Jailed over heroin find in lift
A window cleaner was found unconscious in a supermarket lift with £1200 worth of heroin lying beside him, a court heard.
Ian Kirkland claimed he had fallen asleep in the lift just before 9am because he’d taken Valium.
He told Livingston Sheriff Court he had been ordered to pick up the two ‘wraps’ of brown powder by someone else.
Although he knew the packages contained illicit substances he didn’t know it was the Class ‘A’ drug, he claimed.
Kirkland ( 38) whose address was given as Addiewell Prison, pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.
He admitted he had been released on bail from Paisley Sheriff Court just two days before committing the drugs offence on July 22 .
Jimmy Robert s o n , prosecuting, said a member of the public alerted the security supervisor at Asda in The Centre, Livingston, at about 8.45am that there was a man sleeping in the service elevator.
He said: “The male was the accused and beside him were wraps of brown powder.
“The police were contacted and arrived at 9.05. They saw the accused who presented to them as being under the influence of drugs.
“His speech was slurred, his movements laboured and he appeared very drowsy.”
Mr Robertson said there were two packages of what appeared to be drugs lying beside Kirkland.
They were found to contain around 50 grammes of diamorphine worth a total of £1200.00.
Alan Jackson, defending, said his client had no previous convictions for being concerned in the supply of drugs but he had a record for possessing class ‘A’ drugs.
He said: “His past as a housebreaker caught up with him and he was told he was to pick up these two packagaes.
“He told me he was under the influence of Valium at the time and fell asleep in the lift at Asda.”
Sentencing Kirkland to 16 months in prison, Sheriff Peter Hammond told him he had pleaded guilty to a serious offence.
He added: “I’m satisfied that the only appropriate disposal is a custodial one.”
He backdated the sentence to July 25 when Kirkland was first remanded.