A dad-of-three who was caught with £60,000 of heroin during a police operation will serve two years behind bars.
A white Fiat Punto driven by Raymond Pritchard, 45, was stopped and searched by cops at around noon on Balgownie Drive, in the Bridge of Don, because they suspected it was carrying drugs for organised crime gangs.
The search produced six bags of heroin with a street value in excess of £60,000 and three packages of cash totalling nearly £27,000.
Pritchard’s DNA was subsequently found on one of the heroin packages.
He was also discovered to be connected to the vehicle in relation to a previous stop by police on the A74 in February last year.
Drugs and money found in accused’s vehicle
Fiscal depute Felicity Merson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that police stopped the vehicle on March 6 2020 following intelligence about an organised crime group operating in Aberdeen.
She added: “Around midday they saw two cars driving on Balgownie Drive, Aberdeen, with one following the other.
“The second car was the white Fiat Punto the accused had been driving on February 29 2020.
“The cars stopped and the driver entered the Fiat Punto with a bag which was later found to contain three packages of cash totalling £26,995.
“The Fiat Punto was later searched and with the use of a drug-detection dog.
“Using a crowbar, police opened up the airbag compartment of the car and found a carrier bad that contained six packages of diamorphine (heroin).”
‘It’s a sentence to discourage others from doing the same’
Defence agent Christopher Maitland told the court that Pritchard’s involvement was “to be the driver, the courier of the drugs”.
He added: “He had no knowledge of what would happen after that, he had no further involvement.”
Mr Maitland said Pritchard had suffered from depression and anxiety and had started abusing alcohol and cocaine.
He said his client acted as a drugs courier to pay off a debt.
“He knows that it is inevitable that there will be a custodial sentence.
“He is devastated about how his involvement in this will affect his kids.”
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told the 45-year old that, despite his “limited involvement”, he was transporting a Class A drug.
She added: “It’s a sentence to discourage others from doing the same.”
Sheriff McLaughlin sentenced Pritchard, of Linacre Lane, Bootle, Liverpool, to two years imprisonment.
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