Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Twice-busted Perth heroin dealer jailed after ‘playing last ace in his hand’

Police uncovered heroin and incriminating text messages when they raided Andrew Townsley's city centre flat.

Andrew Townsley
Drug dealer Andrew Townsley appeared at Perth Sheriff Court.

A dealer twice caught running a heroin supply operation from his Perth home has been jailed.

Andrew Townsley was told by a sheriff: “You have played the last ace in your hand.”

The 39-year-old was first busted when police arrived at his home armed with a search warrant on July 8 2021.

They found his living room set up for weighing out heroin into foil wraps, as well as tell-tale messages on his mobile.

Perth Sheriff Court heard Townsley’s Cross Street flat was raided again on October 25 that year.

Officers seized more heroin, phones and paraphernalia.

Asked for one last chance

Solicitor Bethany Downham, defending, urged the court to give her client another chance to avoid jail.

The court heard he had not complied with a community payback order imposed for the July 2021 offence and had failed to attend some appointments.

“It’s fair to say this isn’t a great report,” Ms Downham said.

Andrew Townsley
Andrew Townsley.

“He attributes his absence to an illness. He was regularly attending at his doctor because of a virus.

“He was extremely unwell and couldn’t even walk down the street to the pharmacy.”

She said: “I would ask the court for one last opportunity to show that he can engage.”

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: “It seems that Mr Townsley picks up engagement and puts it down when he likes.

“This is a situation where I have someone who has a significant criminal record.

“He was concerned in the supply of a class A drug in July 2021.

“And little over three months later, he is again engaged in the supply of heroin.”

‘Your luck has run out’

The court heard how police descended on Townsley’s flat just before 6pm on October 25 2021.

He was in the bedroom when police rushed in.

Investigators found a black bag packed with beer and “brown substances”.

They seized £160 cash, scales and phones.

Perth Sheriff Court.

Prosecutor Stephanie Paterson said there were incriminating text messages from customers asked for “H” – referring to heroin – and arranging meeting points.

Just over £130 worth of heroin was recovered by police over the two visits.

Sheriff Foulis told Townsley, now of Kestrel Way: “One might take the view that you were extremely fortunate to be made subject to a community payback order (for the July 2021 incident).

“I am afraid you have played the last ace in your hand.

“In my view, your luck has run out.”

He jailed Townsley for 10 months.

For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.