Man jailed as police bust wrong address

An intelligence-led drugs bust in Coupar Angus initially resulted in police raiding the wrong house.

They quickly realised their mistake but could then hear sounds from the next door property in the Assembly Rooms as if people were trying to “hide or dispose of items.”

It was then decided to force entry to Flat 4 in the town’s George Street to “prevent the destruction of evidence”.

Eight officers later carried out a meticulous search of that house and they seized more than 3000 grammes of cannabis with a maximum street value in excess of £31,000.

They also arrested 21 year-old Shohaib Khan, who had been released early from an English jail after being convicted of possessing a controlled Class A drug.

He was searched and police found a blue bag of containing herbal substances, as well as a silver iPhone, in his possession.

Depute fiscal Marie Irvine told Perth Sheriff Court: “The iPhone was examined and found to contain images showing quantities of cannabis – and a price list – for different strains of cannabis.”

His lawyer, David Sinclair, said he had been “put under pressure” from a north-west of England gang to travel to Scotland and act as “minder” for their drugs operation there.

“He has now detached himself from the criminal gang as best he can.

“And he has moved away from the criminal lifestyle he was previously sucked into,” he stated.

But that didn’t stop Khan, previously from Bradford and now of Featherstall Road, North Oldham, being jailed for drug dealing when he appeared on indictment.

He admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis at the Coupar Angus address on August 4, 2020.

The depute fiscal said: “It immediately became apparent that no drug-dealing activity was ongoing from the address [at Flat 3 in the Assembly Rooms].

“Intelligence was then received to the effect that the group were actually operating from Flat 4.”

Anyone inside was prevented from leaving and a police inspector authorised forced entry.

A search warrant for Flat 4 was later obtained and officers found drugs, or drug-related paraphernalia, in almost every room.

It included a “tick list” and four mobile phones, along with SIM cards and six bags containing herbal matter, from one of the bedrooms; an Apple iPhone and £1035 found in grey jogging bottoms on the bathroom floor; and seven plastic bags, each containing around 500 grammes of herbal matter, retrieved from a kitchen cupboard under the sink.

Scales were also found in a wash basket, along with a small bag of herbal matter found in the kitchen cupboard.

A phone in a black case, along with a card in the name of Hashim Iqbal, were also discovered in a grey basket in another bedroom.

The fiscal said: “Approximately 3136 grammes of cannabis were recovered which would give an ‘as seen’ value of around £15,550 and a maximum potential illicit value of around £31,360.”

Mr Sinclair insisted: “He didn’t benefit financially from any onward sale of the drugs – it was not his role within the organisation.”

The images on the silver iPhone also didn’t “lend themselves to any inference he was involved in onward supply.”

Khan had been freed on licence in February, 2020, from his jail term for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

But the criminal gang still had a “hold” over him and he had a debt to repay.

That led to him becoming a drugs “minder” in Scotland.

Mr Sinclair said the criminal gang he had become “indoctrinated” into still had a “pervasive reach” and that was concerning to his client.

The lawyer conceded that the accused himself had been “attracted” to that lifestyle but that attraction was “no longer there”.

Sheriff Linda Smith said she had “some sympathy” for the accused’s situation but said: “You became embroiled in this because of your own stupidity – and that’s something you have to deal with.”

She jailed him for 12 months but backdated it to May 11.