Manjailed forstoring cocaine forcrooks

A Coatbridge man agreed to store more than £300,000 of cocaine at his home after being made redundant.

Cameron O’byrne lost his job as a telecommunications worker before turning to drink and drugs.

The court heard how the 27-year-old had never been in trouble before, but ended up in debt to local dealers.

In a bid to wipe out what was owed, he allowed crooks to hide £338,680 of cocaine at his home in Coatbridge on May 14 last year.

But the haul was found during a police raid.

O’byrne pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and was last week jailed for three years and four months at the High Court in Glasgow.

Prosecutor John Keenan told the hearing how the drugs were found in two rucksacks, with the cocaine having an average purity of 70 per cent.

O’byrne could not be traced for two days until he eventually handed himself into a local police station.

Billy Lavelle, defending, said: “This is the first time he has been in trouble and what a way to do it.

“Two years ago he lost his job. He took redundancy and could not get a job to replace that. He was also going through difficulties in the family and turned to alcohol for solace. He ended up taking drugs and, from there, it was a downward spiral.”

Mr Lavelle said O’byrne’s “decent” family “were in shock” at his involvement in crime.

Lord Clark told O’byrne the sentence would have been five years, but for the guilty plea.