Three years for taxi driver caught with cocaine haul

APRIVATE hire taxi driver who was caught with almost £ 300,000 of high purity cocaine hidden in his car was yesterday jailed for three years.

Gordon Mitchell , 36, was snared near to Gorbals Leisure Centre on December 2, 2019. Police had spotted him doing a number of threepoint turns in his Volkswagen Passat and stopped him.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that he was couriering the drug in order to pay off part of a gambling debt.

Prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel said the car was searched and initially only two mobile phones were found - one which appeared encrypted.

Ms Dalziel added: “A trained dog handler was contacted.

“The dog then gave a strong indication at the centre console of the car.”

The compartment was yanked open and a plastic bag was found stashed inside.

It contained a taped package of 996g of cocaine with a purity of 73%.

Officers went onto search Mitchell’s home in Shettleston.

Officers found £ 1020 in cash as well as three more mobile phones.

The court was told the cocaine had a potential value of £ 290,906.

It emerged Mitchell – who pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine – already had 11 previous convictions including for theft, assault and carrying weapons.

Defence counsel Allan McLeod said: “There was not a special compartment made to hide the drugs.

“The console was broken and he put the cocaine in there.

“He ran up gambling debts and was offered an opportunity to clear a substantial part of the debt.

“He knew the package contained drugs but not how much or what drug.

“He realises he made a catastrophic mistake.”

Judge Lord Weir told Mitchell: “I accept you had significant gambling debts. Your gambling addiction brought you here today.”