A man caught with drugs after officers hunting a Dundee bomber swooped on a van in a major police operation has been jailed for 16 months.
Police tracked the bomber, former Royal Marine Allan Peach, to the vehicle on Claverhouse Road and found Christopher Cullen (24) sitting alongside him.
Cullen, of Cullen Place, was found with £420 of the class B drug M-Cat (methylmethcathinone), two mobile phones and a number of bank cards.
Peach was jailed for three years in November after causing a blast at a block of flats in Cullen Place. He detonated two devices in June, the second of which blew a number of doors off their hinges.
No one was hurt during either incident.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Cullen was a friend of Peach but had nothing to do with the bombing. Cullen and Peach were traced on June 9 last year, two days after Peach had set off the explosives.
Depute fiscal Isma Mukhtar told the court: “Cullen first appeared on petition on June 11 and made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody. He appeared again on petition on June 18 and was released on bail.
“The circumstances are that police received intelligence around 8.30pm on June 9 that a white Vauxhall Astra van had entered Dundee on the A92.
“The owner of the vehicle was Allan Peach, who was required to be traced on an inquiry under the illicit substances act.”
Cullen was then searched and a bag containing white powder was found, which he said was the drug known as bubbles. Cullen and Peach were both searched by members of the bomb squad.
A number of items were found in the van including £290 in cash, several bank cards and two bags of white powder, which turned out to be the drug M-Cat with a potential illicit value of £420.
Mobile phones containing drug-related text messages were also recovered.
The court heard that Cullen was on bail for a drugs charge which had been granted on March 29 at Perth Sheriff Court at the time of the offence.
He pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of the class B drug M-Cat on June 9 at Claverhouse Road and elsewhere to the prosecutor unknown.
Kris Gilmartin, defending, said: “Mr Cullen became involved with a group who insured him to drive a vehicle and he was aware of criminal matters. He did nothing to try and distance himself from this.
“He’d been identified by this group of friends as the person to purchase the drugs.”
Sheriff George Way said: “You have to understand the appalling arrogance of getting involved in another serious criminal event, not just while on bail but on four weeks of deferral.
“It’s almost incredible. Nothing but a custodial sentence will suffice.”