Crook would have struggled to sell weak drugs haul

Supplier’s cocaine stash just 1per cent pure

A man is facing jail over a cocaine haul he would have struggled to sell – because the quality was so poor.

William Annan, 30, was nabbed with a bag of white powder during a police raid at a flat.

His pal Richard Lewis, 42, stuffed another load in his boxers as cops kicked in the door.

But experts say the haul was just one per cent pure.

Annan admitted supplying the class-A drugs and Lewis pled guilty to possession during a hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court.

Prosecutor David McDonald told how officers swarmed the back of the building and spied the pair through a window.

He said: “Officers at the rear, on looking through one of the windows, saw Lewis putting his right hand down the rear of his trousers.

“Officers at the front of the property gained entry.

“They carried out a personal search of Lewis and a quantity of white powder was concealed within his boxer shorts.

“A plastic tub on top of the microwave contained a knotted polythene bag which contained white powder.”

Police seized almost 80g of drugs during the swoop at Paisley’s Barterholm Road.

More than 50g had been left lying on top of a microwave before the search just before midday on December 14, 2016.

Experts revealed the bag Lewis hid in his pants was worth £630.

The powder from the kitchen could fetch £2,000 if sold in “street deals”.

Its wholesale value was estimated at £1,200.

DrugWise – a narcotics research group – put the average purity of cocaine in the UK at 64 per cent.

Defence lawyer James Arrol revealed further tests had to be carried out because the drugs were so weak.

He explained: “The purity of the cocaine was 1.02 per cent and it contained another drug called Phenacetin at 19.8 per cent.

“The other 80 per cent could not be determined what that was.

“I didn’t know what Phenacetin was and it caused me some difficulty.

“It’s an adulterant for cocaine.

“Clearly this is something that could’ve been sold on.

“The purity of the drug is so low that it makes it exceptionally difficult to put a value on these drugs.

“It may have been exceptionally difficult to move these on due to the purity.”

Sheriff Colin Pettigrew called for background reports to be prepared on both men ahead of sentencing and warned Annan could be locked up

He said: “I’d be failing in my duty if I didn’t consider all options, as you’ve never before served a period of imprisonment.”

Lewis, of Falside Road, Paisley, and Annan were both released on bail.

They have been ordered to return next month.