A hapless drug dealer who accidentally led police to his £4,000 stash of cannabis has been allowed to walk free from court.
Wayne Hastie was about to get a fixed penalty for a bald tyre when he led police back to his car to get his mobile phone and they spotted the drugs stash.
The dopey welder had his car pulled over for a routine police check and he was told he was going to be issued with a fixed penalty fine and sent on his way.
He was filling out the paperwork in the back of the police car when he told them he would have to return to his own vehicle to collect his mobile phone.
The officers went with him to collect the phone — and spotted a bag containing over £4,000 worth of cannabis resin openly visible in the rear footwell.
Hastie, 38, of Bailey Place, Lossiemouth, was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and placed on a curfew for three months at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday.
He admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin on the A9 between April 7 and 20 last year. Texts found on his mobile showed he had been dealing the drug during that period.
He was found with £4,170 worth of the drug and admitted possessing around £200 worth of amphetamine when his home was subsequently raided.
Sheriff William Wood said: “This was a foolhardy venture. You have very much run the gauntlet of a custodial sentence.”
Fiscal depute Lisa Marshall said Hastie’s car was pulled over and he appeared nervous when the officers were speaking to him on the outskirts of Perth.
She told the court that ten 100 gram bags were found in the car along with two mobile phones which showed a trail of drug deals over the previous fortnight.
Hastie’s solicitor Lee Qumsieh said: “The police stopped him and found a minor defect with one of the tyres. They were in the process of offering a conditional fixed penalty.
“They asked him to take a seat in the police vehicle and he was trying to give them a mobile number. The officers weren’t searching and had no intention of going near his car.
“The officers go to the car with him to find the number and they see the bag of cannabis resin on display. That gives some understanding of his naivety. He is not someone who is routinely involved in this kind of thing.”
He said his client had become involved in drug dealing to help his friend pay off a drug debt and now regretted the part he played in the scheme.
Mr Qumsieh said: “He wishes he could turn back the clock.”
