An Uber Eats driver was caught transporting thousands of pounds worth of crack cocaine through Tayside.
Ali Danesh and his acquaintance Gerald Duffus had bags of the class A drug in their boot when they were pulled over by police on the A90, near Inchture.
The two men, both from Birmingham, denied their involvement in the drugs trade and went on trial at Perth Sheriff Court.
On Thursday, Danesh’s 33rd birthday, a jury found them guilty of being involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.
Duffus, 26, was further convicted of having a lock knife in a public place.
Danesh – who the court heard fled his home in Iran due to religious persecution and has been employed as an Uber Eats driver since the offences – pled guilty to failing to provide blood samples to police, who suspected him of drug-driving.
Sheriff William Wood told father-of-four Duffus, who has a history of drug convictions, prison is “inevitable”.
Police operation
Police Constable Campbell Hutt told the trial that on April 26 2021, officers received intelligence about a black Toyota iQ being driven through Perthshire.
“We were sitting at the Broxden Roundabout at our usual look-out point when we saw it passing, heading towards Dundee,” he said.
“We followed it for a short distance and then activated our lights, half-way between Perth and Dundee.”
The Toyota, driven by Danesh, pulled into a layby.
PC Hutt, 44, told jurors he spoke to the motorist.
“He seemed nervous and frightened.
“There was a smell of cannabis within the vehicle.
“They had either been smoking it, or there was cannabis in the vehicle.”
Danesh was searched and four joints were found in his left hand jacket pocket, PC Hutt said.
Retired sergeant Paul Taylor told the trial he spoke to Duffus in the front passenger seat.
“He was very calm.
“He passed me something that he had in his lap at the time.
“It was a pink grinder with cannabis in it.
“It seemed to be something for grinding cannabis leaves into herbal cigarettes.”
The men were taken into custody and the car was searched.
Investigators uncovered the lock knife in the front of the vehicle and more than 70g of crack cocaine in the boot.
The total amount of drugs found was valued at around £7,430.
Cannot return to homeland
Danesh, of Bampfylde Place, was found guilty of being involved in the supply of the class A drug on April 26 2021, the day his car was stopped.
Jurors found Duffus, of Kingsbury Road, was involved for a longer time, from January 19 2020.
They were both convicted of being concerned in the supply of cannabis on various occasions over the same 15-and-a-half month period.
The court heard Danesh had fled his home country of Iran six years ago.
His solicitor Billy Somerville said he left because he is a Christian and felt unsafe.
“He cannot return there.
“He now has a job as an Uber Eats delivery driver.”
Sheriff Wood told Danesh: “You come to the court as a first offender and I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt at this stage at least, and allow you to remain on bail.”
He told Duffus: “You are in a rather different category.
“You have a number of previous convictions for possession of various types of drugs.
“A custodial sentence is inevitable and you will be remanded in custody.”
Both men will return to court for sentencing on March 23.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
