A child was moments from “absolutely catastrophic consequences” when he popped a drug dealer’s misplaced ecstasy tablet into his mouth thinking it was a sweet — only to spit it out because it “didn’t taste nice”.
A handful of the class A pills inadvertently ended up in a carrier bag containing an iPad at Dean Shaw’s Arbroath home.
That was then taken away by a woman and put on her kitchen table.
A child then went to play with the iPad and found the stash, and one of the yellow, strawberry-shaped tablets was placed into the youngster’s mouth.
Fortunately the child spat it out.
The youngster’s mother then entered the kitchen and found the pills strewn across the table.
After asking the child about the sweets, she was told that they were not sweets as they didn’t taste nice. The woman knew that the bag had been in Shaw’s home and contacted him.
Miss Bell added: “The child was taken to Arbroath Minor Injuries Unit and observed but didn’t have any symptoms of ingesting the tablets.
“Police were contacted and the accused’s address was searched.”
Officers found £3,691 in cash, cocaine worth up to £9,600 and 28 ecstasy tablets worth £10 each.
Shaw, 27, of Catherine Street, pleaded guilty to charges of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and possessing ecstasy on August 15 last year.
His lawyer John Hall said: “He profoundly and profusely apologises for this.
“It is not lost on him that there could have been absolutely catastrophic consequences.”
Sentence was deferred until next month.
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