Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Jail for man caught with £85k of drugs
A DUNDEE drug dealer has been jailed for more than five years for supplying cocaine worth £85,000.
Dale Wales, 24, of Riddell Terrace, had been convicted following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen in November last year.
Now, the Linlathen man has been sentenced to five years and six months behind bars.
He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday.
An officer involved in the investigation thanked the public for their help in providing intelligence on the “significant” drug haul.
Wales was charged with being concerned in the supply of the controlled drug in 2014 at various addresses in Dundee.
Another man was also accused of the same offence but while a jury found the case against him not proven, Wales was found guilty.
During the trial, Aberdeen High Court heard that between August and October in 2014, Wales supplied cocaine at addresses including Douglas Road, Ballindean Road, Claverhouse Road and Longtown Street in the northeast of the city.
He was arrested on October 16 2014 following an intelligence-led drugs operation by Police Scotland. He then appeared in private on petition at Dundee Sheriff Court following his arrest
It emerged that officers had stopped Wales in a vehicle on Harestane Road, where £85,000 worth of drugs was recovered.
Following the conviction, Detective Sergeant Eddie Rankin told the Tele that the sting was part of Operation Melville — which was conducted in the north of Dundee by the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorist Unit.
He said: “It was an operation which was conducted over a number of months.
“It was a significant amount and the arrest would have impacted on the supply of the Class A drug at that time.
“The public’s support in this operation was vital and we acted on intelligence we had received during our surveillance operation.”
At the time of the arrests, a Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Officers in Tayside Division are committed to taking illegal drugs out of communities and targeting those involved in their supply.”