A drug dealer who was caught red-handed transporting cocaine worth up to £37,500 has been jailed for three years.
Nicholas Day, 31, of Longhaugh Road, was handed the sentence at Dundee Sheriff Court after admitting supplying the drug.
The court heard that Day was caught while waiting at a red traffic light on Hawkhill.
Police pulled up next to him and detectors within their vehicle picked up Day’s number plate.
An alarm was activated within the police car indicating he had no road tax for the van.
Fiscal depute Vicki Bell said: “At 11.55am on May 17 police officers were on routine patrol at Hawkhill.
“A van passed them with no excise duty and police officers followed the van and indicated for it to stop at Perth Road.
“The van was searched and a rucksack containing three bags of white powder and a set of scales was found within it.
“The bags were later found to contain a total of 379g of cocaine with a value of between £18,750 and £37,500.”
Day was the only person in the van and he was taken to police headquarters.
He told officers that 28g of the class A drug was for his own use and to sell on to friends.
Solicitor John Boyle, defending, told the court: “He was using cocaine excessively at the time — up to 14g a weekend.
“He was given the package to have some for himself and pass the rest on to someone who would collect it.
“He was to keep 18g but given that he was using half of that for himself he wasn’t making much money selling the rest on to his friends.”
Mr Boyle added that Day had been caught as part of a larger police operation.
Day admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine, a class A drug, at Longhaugh Road and Perth Road between April 10 and May 17 last year.
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said: “The value of the drugs was between £18,000 and £37,500.
“That puts it firmly within a custodial range and I see no alternative to that.”
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.