Drug dealer faces jail

Teenager was caught with cannabis and baseball bat

A TEENAGE drug dealer is facing jail after being caught with thousands of pounds worth of cannabis in his car.

Brandon Hayter, 19, was also caught with a baseball bat when he was stopped by police on Balgowan Avenue last summer.

Text messages found i n his phone revealed Hayter claimed he needed to protect himself in order to recover drug debts.

Officers stopped driver Hayter, a first offender, in the early hours of the morning on June 26 last year over a routine inquiry. They detected a strong smell of cannabis from Hayter who admitted he had a “small quantity” of the Class B drug.

Hayter’s car was searched and bags of herbal substances, a small set of scales and cash were found.

Fiscal depute Saima Rashid said: “Messages on the accused’s phone made reference to needing protection from collecting outstanding debts. A large sports bag contained 263.07g of cannabis. The accused’s home address was searched and £1,360 in cash and a small quantity of herbal substances were recovered.”

The fiscal revealed that from Hayter’s car and house, cannabis weighing a total of 341.4g was recovered with an estimated value of £3,410.

Text messages that covered 133 pages showed multiple references to drug dealing as well as chasing outstanding drug debts.

Hayter said during his police interview that the cannabis was for his own personal use.

The teen, of Alyth, pleaded guilty on indictment to being concerned in the supply of cannabis between March 8-June 26 last year at Balgowan Avenue and at his home address. He also admitted possessing a baseball bat on Balgowan Avenue on June 26.

Solicitor Douglas Fraser said he would reserve mitigation until the preparation of reports.

Sheriff Lorna Drummond deferred sentence on Hayter until next month. He was granted bail meantime.

Brandon Hayter’s car was stopped by police.