Drug pusher found with 115 cannabis bars at Ullapool port
A COURT has been told a Glasgow drug courier found with £93,000 worth of cannabis in a bag at the ferry terminal in Ullapool was trying to clear debts after his catering business collapsed.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard today (Thursday) that chef Andrew Kenny (47) was contacted by dealers who knew of his difficult financial circumstances.
Solicitor Pauline Chapman, acting on behalf of Kenny’s principal agents, said: “They knew he regularly travelled to Stornoway and he was due to travel there on the date of the offence."
He was asked to deliver a holdall of cannabis to Stornoway.
“He saw this as an opportunity to ease the financial situation he was in and succumbed to temptation," she said.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson, at an earlier hearing, was told police were tipped off and when they searched Kenny at the busy west coast port they discovered a total of 115 bars of cannabis resin destined for the Western Isles in the holdall he was carrying.
Kenny of Auchinleck Gardens, Glasgow admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin in West Argyle Street, Ullapool, on August 21 last year. He also admitted previous convictions.
Fiscal Roderick Urquhart told the court: “Police received very specific information about Kenny and his possession of cannabis resin and as a result of that information he was traced at about 5.30 that evening in West Argyle Street, Ullapool, heading in the direction of the ferry terminal. He was almost entering the ferry car park when he was detained under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
“He was asked if he had any controlled drugs and he answered ‘Yes, hash’.”
Mr Urquhart said the holdall was found to contain 75 bars of cannabis with an average weight of 199.55 grammes and a further 40 bars with an average weight of 96 grammes, a total of 18,718 grammes.
“The wholesale purchase price would have been around £16,000,” he said, “If the entire quantity was sold in £5 deals it would be capable of realising £93,500. However, £5 deals are very rare and a more realistic figure for one ounce deals would be between £53,481 and £66,850.”
Ms Chapman said Kenny was unaware of the value and tried to justify his actions by the fact that cannabis was not the most dangerous drug available.
Sentence had been deferred for reports until Thursday. Sheriff Margaret Neilson deferred sentence further until August 20 for the attendance of the principal agents because she needed to know exactly what advice Kenny had been given on possible sentencing outcomes.
