Dundee Tesco thief found with £56,000 of heroin in cell

A man who swallowed bags of heroin worth up to £56,000 then got himself arrested in a blatant supermarket theft was today jailed.

Darren Rachwal consumed bags containing a stash of the Class A drug then went to Dundee’s Tesco Extra store on the Kingsway.

There, in the middle of the night, he filled up a trolley with a TV, an Xbox console and numerous DVDs.

He then sauntered past the checkouts to the exit having been watched all the way by staff.

Rachwal — who has 35 previous convictions, mostly for theft — made no attempt to flee when security staff apprehended him and took him back inside.

Fiscal depute Kirsten Thomson said police then took him to the city’s headquarters and placed him in a cell.

She said: “At 8.30am the next day G4S officers arrived to take him to court.

“At that time a police officer attended his cell and found three large wraps containing powder sitting beside the cell toilet.

“The contents was later found to be heroin worth £11,000 in £10 street deals.

“Had it made its way in to prison it would have been worth around £56,000.”

Rachwal, 24, a prisoner at Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of theft committed at Tesco, Kingsway, Dundee, on October 31 last year.

He further admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin at Dundee’s Bell Street police HQ the following day.

Defence solicitor Doug McConnell said: “His position is he was taking these drugs from one person to another — he wasn’t trying to get them into prison.

“The Crown is neutral as to whether that was the case.”

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael jailed Rachwal for two years and eight months.

He said: “Heroin is a drug that causes misery to countless numbers of people and you have actively participated in that trade.

“There are various values given for the drug here.

“The prosecutor’s position is neutral and there has been no evidence presented that you intended to take this in to prison so I have to go on the lower value.”