An Angus man who was caught hoarding more than 6,000 pills has been jailed for 19 months.
Steven Clarke from Forfar kept 226 boxes of diazepam in two flats until a police search turned up an estimated £6,000 worth of the Class C controlled drug.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard the 32-year-old was only found out when officers noticed his attempts to conceal drugs in his rear and mouth.
Clarke, a prisoner at Perth, formerly of Prior Road, Forfar, admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice and assaulting a police officer and supplying class C drugs on May 31 and June 1 this year.
Depute fiscal Cheryl Clark said the accused had previous convictions for drugs and crimes of dishonesty, and was on bail at the time of the indictment offence.
She said: “At 8.50pm officers on mobile patrol saw the accused in Forfar and he was seen to place an unknown item into the waistband of his trousers.”
When challenged, the officers believed he had inserted an item into his rear and took the accused to Ninewells Hospital in order to retrieve it.
The accused asked for the van to stop in Dundee Road as he was going to be sick.
As he crouched over, an officer noticed a small item on the ground next to Clarke, who then “placed it in his mouth and swallowed it”.
On being taken to Ninewells, Clarke became aggressive and assaulted PC Paul Hosking by repeatedly attempting to bite him, then attempted to butt him to the head.
The police obtained a search warrant to enter Clarke’s house and his father’s in Priory Court.
They found 218 boxes of diazepam 5ml at Clarke’s, and eight boxes at the other man’s on June 1.
Defending Clarke, solicitor Norman Bruce said his client accepted a custodial sentence and was taking part in meetings to deal with his drug habit.
“He tells me he was quite glad he was arrested as his life was in chaos,” Mr Bruce added.
Clarke also admitted summary charges relating to a breach of the peace in the Salvation Army shop in Castle Street, Forfar, miscellaneous shoplifting and drug possession, and uttering offensive remarks to a nurse in Ninewells Hospital on September 29 last year.
The court heard Clarke called Hans-Peter Krechel “a Nazi” but had later apologised.
Describing the police assault as “nasty”, visiting Sheriff Thorley sentenced Clarke to 19 months in custody, backdated to June.