A Fife woman sold ketamine to a teenager who died shortly after taking the drug.
The young male had arranged to buy the substance via Snapchat.
Drug-dealer Safia Omar, 22, of Craigbeath Court, Cowdenbeath, met the youth outside a local shop after he ordered the drugs on his phone.
Omar, who did not know the deceased, avoided a jail sentence when she appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
The presiding sheriff said the case was a warning to all those buying drugs saying: “You don’t know what’s in them and those who supply them don’t care.”
Omar admitted that on August 31 last year at Leuchatsbeath Drive, Cowdenbeath, she was concerned in the supply of ketamine.
Died after taking drugs
Depute fiscal Annie Henderson said the teenager was picked up by his cousin in his car and they spent a few hours going around the Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly area.
The teenager said he was going to buy ketamine via Snapchat.
He made arrangements to pick up the drugs in the street outside a shop, where Omar appeared.
She came to the passenger’s side of the vehicle and handed over the drugs.
The teenager snorted the white powder from his knuckles and was then driven home.
The depute said the young man “passed away on 1st September”.
No further details of the youth were given in court.
Sheriff puts crime in context
Defence solicitor Chris Sneddon started his submission by pointing out: “The charge is supplying a £20 bag of a category B drug.”
At that point, Sheriff Lindsay Foulis interrupted to say: “Yes that’s what she’s charged with. I know it’s not culpable homicide.
“However, this is an attempt to say, ‘Ach well, it’s a category B drug, she’s only 22 and was 20 at the time.
“So, you know, it’s not really that bad’.
“What I’m doing is putting it in context – as a consequence of the supply of drugs, an 18-year-old has lost his life.
“That’s the problem of being involved in the supply of illicit substances.
“You don’t know what’s in them and those who supply them don’t care.
“As a result, this is what can happen.”
Sentencing
The sheriff noted from a social work report Omar had admitted she had agreed to store drugs in her home.
Mr Sneddon said: “She does not try to minimise what has happened.
“She’s a person who works and she’s not unintelligent.
“It’s fair to say she feels responsible for more than what she’s been charged with.
“She’s under no illusion of the sentence the court can impose on her.”
The sheriff told the first offender: “If you’re in the drugs chain, you’ve no idea what you’re passing on and there can be tragic results.
“In this case, the life an 18-year-old has been cut short.”
The sheriff imposed a community payback order with 200 hours of unpaid work.
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