The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Prison for courier caught with £200k worth of cocaine
Adrugs courier caught with nearly £200,000 of cocaine has been jailed for two years. Charles Dewar, 63, was stopped by officers in Glenfarg, near Perth, as he drove from Newcastle to Scotland on October 28 2020.
Two kilos of the class A drug were found.
He said he had believed he was collecting cannabis resin from Newcastle in a pre-arranged meeting.
Dewar, of Newhouse Road, Perth, pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine on the M90, at Glenfarg, in Newcastle and elsewhere.
Judge Lord Arthurson said at the High Court in Paisley custody was the only disposal available to him.
He said: “You acted as a courier in a class A drug trafficking operation with two kilos of cocaine with a maximum value of £199,800.
“You are a first offender at age 63 and you have a supportive family.
“You played a small part in this type of offence.
“You had a lesser role in this operation and you thought you were transporting cannabis, rather than class A drugs, but you were still transporting drugs, and it was considerable.”
An earlier hearing was told Dewar confessed to officers he was stopped by an unknown man he had never met on a street in Newcastle.
Prosecutor Craig Borthwick said: “This male opened the rear door of his vehicle and deposited a package under the rear seat.
“Dewar stated he is merely a mule, who acted under duress having a ‘gun to his head’, believing he was only collecting cannabis resin.”
Police had received intelligence Dewar’s Ford Fusion Zetec car was being used to transport a large amount of cannabis to Perth.
Dewar was spotted on the A977 Kincardine to Kinross road by officers and stopped at Glenfarg.
A police drugs search dog drew attention to the rear seat and the cocaine was found beneath it.
The drugs were sealed inside carrier bags.
A black plastic layer in the wrapping was labelled “TMT THE MONEY TEAM” and the cocaine blocks were stamped “TMT”.
Expert drugs officers said the total potential street value for the haul of cocaine was £199,800.
Defence counsel Tony Lenehan said Dewar had health problems and was subject to extensive medical investigations.
“
...but you were still transporting drugs