Dealer snared with £140k of drugs as police offered lift
A drug dealer faces a lengthy prison sentence after being picked up by the police while carrying suitcases stuffed with £140,000 worth of cannabis.
Jesse Winsborough crashed his car in a blizzard and was found pulling two suitcases alongside the A9 when officers stopped to offer him a lift to a railway station.
As they helped put his cases into their car, they noticed an overwhelming smell of cannabis.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how the stunned officers opened the cases to find around 30lb of cannabis with a potential street value of £140,000. Winsborough, 30, was part of a county lines trafficking scheme and admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis on a journey between London and Perthshire on January 27 and 28 last year.
Fiscal depute Michael Sweeney told the court: ‘At the time of this incident it was snowing heavily.
‘At about 11.40pm, a witness and his wife were travelling northbound when they overtook a white motor vehicle.
‘He noticed the front, nearside headlamp of the car was out and there was accident damage to the front. Later, the vehicle came up behind them, before performing an overtaking manoeuvre.
‘It carried on for a short distance but lost control in the snow, striking a verge before coming to rest on its roof.’ Mr Sweeney said the motorist stopped his car and phoned the police before going to speak to the occupants of the car.
Winsborough was with his former co-accused Jade Lawlor.
Mr Sweeney added: ‘He saw the accused and Ms Lawlor standing next to the vehicle. He told them that he had contacted police.
‘They immediately queried why he had done this. The accused became annoyed and, fearing for his safety, the witness returned to his vehicle.’
Police officers arrived at the crash scene, near Auchterarder, Perthshire, shortly after midnight and saw the Citroen car at the side of the carriageway.
‘The boot was lying open and there was no one inside or near the vehicle,’ Mr Sweeney said, before adding that the couple were traced nearly an hour later.
‘The officers stopped and spoke to the accused and Ms Lawlor. They were walking away pulling two large suitcases.
‘They confirmed they had been involved in an accident and that they were waiting for someone to pick them up.’
The officers told the pair they would be taken somewhere safe to arrange for a lift.
Mr Sweeney added: ‘They then agreed to be dropped off at gleneagles railway station to continue their journey. Police placed the suitcases inside the police vehicle.’
Mr Sweeney said the cases were locked and that the couple said they did not know the combination for the padlocks.
Lawlor also bizarrely claimed: ‘They aren’t our cases.’
Self-employed flooring worker Winsborough, from Waltham Forest, London, pleaded guilty to the charge in his absence. Lawlor’s not guilty plea was accepted.
Winsborough has previous convictions for possession of cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy.
Sheriff george Way deferred sentence for reports and for Winsborough to appear personally.
‘The accused became annoyed’