Kilo of cannabis discovered by customs officers
Two men have narrowly avoided jail after customs officers found a kilo of cannabis in a package sent from the United States.
A note claimed that the contents were nothing more sinister than camping utensils, Hamilton Sheriff Court was told.
Kyle Mclaren, 27, of Clyde Avenue, Bothwell, and Hisham Chegra, 24, of Shawbride Street, Pollokshaws, Glasgow, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
The court heard that drugs found in the package and at Mclaren’s home had a potential street value of £9370.
Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said UK Border Force officials seized a package sent from Dallas, Texas, when it arrived in the country in November 2022.
He told the court: “Paperwork declared the contents to be a camping utensils gift set.
However, the officers found two vacuum-sealed bags containing herbal material. Each weighed just under half a kilo.
“The package was addressed to Mclaren’s home and police officers went there with a search warrant on December 2, 2022.
“They found scales and various bags containing 3-4g deals of cannabis.”
Mr Thomson said financial records showed Mclaren had paid Chegra £1100 in advance of the package being sent. There was also a text message from Chegra to Mclaren relating to the delivery and Chegra’s fingerprints were found on some of the bags containing cannabis.
The fiscal added: “During the search at this home Mclaren told police officers he was simply looking after the drugs for someone, but he didn’t specify who that person was.”
Mclaren’s lawyer produced character references, saying: “He’s a first offender and the criminal justice social work report is positive.
“He acknowledges the serious nature of the offence. He has a university education and works in the financial services industry. He is assessed as being at a low risk of reoffending.”
Chegra’s solicitor said he became involved at a time when he was a heavy user of cannabis.
He has no previous convictions for drug offences and no longer uses cannabis.
Sheriff Colin Dunipace told the pair: “The court will always take an extremely serious view of matters involving the supply of drugs. Custody was uppermost in my mind but, with some hesitation, I’ll step back from that.”
Both men were placed under supervision for a year and will be confined to their homes between 7pm and 7am each day under a three-month electronic tagging order.
Mclaren was ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid community work while Chegra must carry out 220 hours.
The sheriff warned them: “If you fail to comply with any aspect of this you will be brought back to court and subjected to custodial sentences.”