A three-time dealer told police “I know the script,” after he was caught transporting thousands of pounds worth of cocaine from Glasgow to Dundee.
Joiner Jordan Donnelly was snared in a police sting on the A90 between Errol and Inchture earlier this summer.
Detectives had been given a tip-off about the car being used to ferry the drugs from city to city.
Donnelly appeared by video at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted his role in the illicit cocaine trade on July 8.
The new dad, from Dundee, was handed a “deterrent” prison sentence of 32 months and told his punishment would be not getting to see his baby son grow up.
Opportunities for ‘easy’ cash
Sheriff William Wood told Donnelly: “This is the third time you have been convicted of being convicted of being concerned in the supply of a class A drug, albeit this time it’s cocaine rather than heroin.
“Accordingly, you need what it is called a deterrent sentence – one that is long enough that it is going to have some impact on your behaviour in the future.
“So when someone next offers you an opportunity to make some quick and seemingly easy cash, you will decline that opportunity for fear that you could miss your son grow up.
“That could be one of the biggest punishments imposed upon you.”
The sheriff added: “This is a substantial quantity of cocaine with a significant potential value if broken down into dealer wraps.
“Only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
Donnelly was told he would have been jailed for four years if not for his early plea.
Body search
Fiscal depute Emma Farmer told the court: “On July 8, Police Scotland received confidential information that a black Volkswagen Golf was travelling to Dundee from Glasgow, carrying a quantity of controlled substances.
“At about 5.35pm, police stopped the vehicle on the A90 between Perth and Dundee.
“The accused was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.”
The prosecutor said: “He was searched and a quantity of cash was seized from his waistband.
“The vehicle was then searched and recovered a bag of white powder.”
The package, later analysed as about £40 of cocaine, was stashed in a compartment near the headlights switch.
Later, Donnelly was searched again at Dundee Police HQ.
“Officers seized a further bag of white powder,” said Ms Farmer. “It contained 43.5g of cocaine, with a street value of between £2,500 and £4,350.”
A smaller parcel of the drug – between £40-£70 – was found inside his boxer shorts.
Donnelly told police: “I know the script.”
The court heard Donnelly had moved around the country and had worked as a joiner in Glasgow, before settling down with family in Dundee.
His lawyer told Sheriff Wood: “He appreciates that a custodial sentence will be imposed and I would ask the court to give him credit for his early plea.”
Donnelly began his criminal career as part of a gang called the Young Team, who delivered heroin on push bikes around Saracen, Glasgow.
The then-17-year-old was handed probation and community service for his role in the criminal enterprise.
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