Electrician caught with £25,000 worth of cocaine was dealing for gang.

David Kiddy admits offence aggravated by connection to serious, organised crime

An electrician caught with nearly £25,000 worth of cocaine was dealing the drug on behalf of an organised crime gang.

David Kiddy was remanded in custody and told he will be jailed after his DNA was found on the drug packaging.

Sheriff Gillian Wade told Kiddy, who has no previous convictions: “Your dramatic rise into the world of criminality is inevitably going to result in a custodial sentence.”

Kiddy, 26, of Main Street, Invergowrie, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine in Canal Street, Perth, on July 20.

Depute-fiscal John Malpass told Perth Sheriff Court that Kiddy and Morris Ferrie had come under suspicion and were being monitored by drug squad officers.

He said: “Over a number of months intelligence was received by Police Scotland that the former co-accused was concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

“A surveillance operation was authorised and Mr Ferrie was observed as a passenger in a vehicle driven by Mr Kiddy and it was suspected a drug transaction was taking place.”

The duo were arrested and a bag of white powder was recovered from the footwell of the car. When the bag was analysed, Kiddy’s DNA was found on it.

Mr Malpass said the bag contained nearly quarter of a kilo of cocaine with a potential street value of £24,900.

Ferrie, 51, was jailed for 32 months last month after the court heard about his role in the organised crime gang’s bid to flood Perth with the Class A drug.

He told the court he joined the gang because he was fed-up waiting for a knee replacement operation on the NHS.

Ferrie claimed he was in pain from arthritis and had been told he would have to wait up to 15 years to have the operation to replace both knees.

He told Perth Sheriff Court that he tried to dull the pain with alcohol before turning to cocaine and eventually got hooked into an organised crime gang.

Mr Malpass told the court that the haul of cocaine led to further large seizures of drugs around Tayside which were linked to the same gang’s operation.

He said: “Once the accused and another person were apprehended further searches warrants were executed. That resulted in significant further finds.

“It was part of a larger operation, confined to the Tayside area. The quantities of cocaine involved showed it was a large-scale commercial crime enterprise.

Solicitor Billy Somerville, defending, said: “The reason he became involved with the drug cocaine is that he has severe arthritis in his knees.

“And because of his relatively young age he was told he couldn’t have the operation to replace them for as much as another 15 years.

“He had been drinking to excess and then he got back into cocaine to deal with the pain. As often happens, he got into debt and was unable to pay.

“Threats were made to him and his family. He foolishly accepted an offer to assist in the delivery of the package and in return for that his debt would be quashed.

“He is going to lose the tenancy of his house and contact with his children and he accepts it is his own fault.”

Jailing him, Sheriff Gillian Wade said: “Clearly this was a significant commercial enterprise and the amount and value of the cocaine involved means it has to be treated seriously.

“You have a previous conviction and knew what the consequences would be.”

Ferrie and Kiddy both admitted the offence was aggravated by a connection to serious, organised crime.

The quantities of cocaine involved showed it was a large-scale commercial crime enterprise. DEPUTE-FISCAL JOHN MALPASS

Morris Ferrie, who was jailed after the court heard about his role in a crime gang’s bid to flood Perth with cocaine.