A91 drug courier gets jail sentence

A Bannockburn drug courier – caught by police carrying ecstasy and cannabis with a combined street value of £3360 – exited a moving van at Blairlogie in an attempt to evade police.

Sean Steel, of Davidson Street, had admitted charges of possessing cannabis and being concerned in the supply of ecstasy at the A91 near the village on May 7 this year while on bail on another matter.

Fiscal depute Liam McGuigan told Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday that police officers had been carrying out traffic checks on the A91 about 8pm that evening.

The officers saw a white van and made instructions for it to stop. As the vehicle began to slow down and passed the officers they noted a strong smell of cannabis.

It was being driven at a slow speed when Steel opened the passenger door, left the van, and ran off.

Officers chased the 25-year-old who threw a bag over a wall into a wooded area, added Mr McGuigan. Steel was then caught by the officers who also recovered the bag from bushes by a public footpath.

It contained a bucket with bags containing herbal and crystalised substances.

Steel was arrested and taken to Falkirk Police Office. When tested, the herbal substance, weighing 180.7g, was confirmed as cannabis and the crystalised substance, weighing 28g, MDMA or ecstasy.

The cannabis had an estimated street value of £1960 and the MDMA £1400.

Steel’s agent Frazer McCready told Sheriff Wyllie Robertson his client had already spent some time in custody on the matter.

He recognised that a custodial sentence would be uppermost in the sheriff’s mind, but suggested that unpaid work could be an alternative.

While Steel had a criminal record, it did not include previous convictions involving drug offences. Steel, however, was a regular user of cannabis, he said.

Mr McCready said on the day Steel was caught by police he had gone to his supplier to buy cannabis. He was asked to deliver packages to other individuals.

Mr McCready added that Steel had assured him that he had not been paid to carry out the delivery, but would get cannabis at a reduced price.

The solicitor pointed out that Steel had an 18-month-old daughter with his partner. He cared for her on a daily basis and his girlfriend was expecting another child.

If given a custodial sentence the family unit would be broken up, Mr McCready pointed out, and Steel wished to support his girlfriend.

The lawyer suggested that a restriction of liberty order Steel was currently subject to could be extended and he could also carry out a term of unpaid work.

When asked about supervision by Sheriff Robertson, Mr McCready replied that Steel and his family had “difficulty with dealing social workers in the past.”

Steel had “traumatic memories” of being involved in the care system, he said, and supervision could affect his mental health, but added: “If it’s the difference between that and custody he would agree to supervision.”

Sheriff Robertson told Steel that “being involved with the supply of controlled drugs, especially class-A drugs, was a serious matter.”

He said Steel was “no stranger to the courts”, but had not received a custodial sentence before.

He also noted he had convictions for violence and racially-aggravated conduct.

Sheriff Robertson told him the only appropriate sentence was a custodial one and jailed Steel for nine months reduced from 12 due to his guilty pleas.