Sheriff takes pity on slick drugs lout
Dad snared with cocaine and MDMA in hair cream is spared jail
A holidaymaker snared with drugs in his Brylcreem as he jetted off to Spain, has been spared jail.
Fly-man Daryll McAdam, 31, was caught with cocaine and MDMA in the tub of hair cream at Glasgow Airport as he was heading to Ibiza to celebrate his birthday.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard McAdam, of Mossvale Square in the town, was forced to spend the night in custody instead of the sunshine resort with his pals.
The young dad appeared for sentencing this week after pleading guilty to two charges of the exportation of controlled drugs.
Prosecutor Keri Marshall had told the court McAdam and his friend were stopped in the departure lounge moments before they were due to leave on July 26 last year.
When cops quizzed him in the search room McAdam, who had almost £ 1,000 in Euros on him, said they would not find any drugs.
However when they whipped his bags off the plane they found orange and blue wraps planked in the hairstyling cream.
They contained party drug MDMA, the main ingredient of ecstasy, which can be snorted or swallowed, worth £200.
He also had more than 10g of cocaine – with a value of £350.
McAdam, a former carpet cleaner and forklift driver, took the fall when the Brylcreem tub was found in a red toiletries’ bag in his suitcase.
He said: “That’s mine – it’s nothing to do with him.”
Defence lawyer Paul Lynch claimed his client had been taking his own cocaine over after suffering a severe adverse reaction to drugs he bought in Ibiza previously.
And he added that McAdam was more than willing to accept responsibility for the offence involving his use of the “recreational drug.”
He said: “He has come to court ready, willing and able to face the ultimate punishment in this case.
“He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity as he did not want to waste court’s time.
“I would ask the court to consider an alternative to custody by way of unpaid work and he can be clearly managed in the community and doesn’t present a risk to the community.”
Sheriff Seith Ireland who called for reports in preparation for sentencing, said it was a “very serious matter” in breaching the Customs and Excise Act by trying to take “controlled substances” out of the country.
However, he showed mercy to McAdam adding: “Custody could well be imposed. I’ve given anxious consideration to that.
“But I’m drawn to the view, there is an alternative to custody.”
He handed McAdam a 12 month Community Payback Order requiring he undertake 210 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the community.