A Kirkcaldy man who told police he was “just in charge of bagging” £10,000 of heroin had run up a debt to his dealers.
Jason Devennie, 32, owed around £1,000 due to his cannabis addiction.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court was told he could clear part of the debt by holding the drugs in his home.
But he then was ordered to prepare it for forward sale.
When he tried to resist, he said he was threatened with violence.
Threatened
Solicitor David Bell told the court Devennie had developed a reliance on cannabis.
He said: “His life went off the rails to an extent.
“He suffers depression and dealt with that for a time by using cannabis.
“He racked up a significant debt – around £1,000.
“He was approached by those he owed money to and asked if he would hold and store a quantity of drugs.
“He didn’t think to ask how much it was at the time.
“He was then contacted and told he needed to cut it into smaller quantities to be sold on.
“He tried to resist and was told that was part of the plan.
“Veiled threats – and not-so-veiled threats – were made to him.”
Sheriff Ian Anderson placed Devennie on a 12-month supervision order and told him to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work.
£10k of cannabis
The court had previously heard police officers executed a search warrant at his home in Westwood Avenue at around 8.40am on October 6 last year.
Fiscal depute Alistair McDermott said: “The accused was found in the living room.
“He was in possession of eight ounces of heroin.”
Officers found bags of heroin divided up into deals throughout his living room, including on the table and in its drawer.
They also found scales and £30 in cash.
In total, officers recovered 253.8 grammes of heroin.
They valued this as being worth £6,000 if sold together or worth £10,000 if sold in deal bags.
