A drugs courier has been jailed for three years and eight months after being caught with up to £100,000 worth of heroin under a seat in his car.
John Paul McCormack, 30, was snared after police were tipped off that he would be arriving in Dundee along with an associate in possession of drugs being shipped in from Glasgow.
Jobless McCormack — who has previous convictions for assault and possession of cocaine — was spotted in the black Volkswagen Golf around 4pm on February 3.
Police saw him shoving two packages under the front seat as they approached him on the Kingsway.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court the heroin he was found with was almost twice as strong as that normally found in Tayside.
She said: “The vehicle was searched and two brown packages were found under the front seat.
“The packages contained a total of 503.4 grams of heroin valued at £50,340 if divided into ‘tenner bags’.
“However, the purity was 19% — twice as pure as the average heroin in Tayside. It would be capable of being bulked out with a maximum street value of up to £100,000.”
McCormack, of Glasgow, pleaded guilty on indictment to being concerned in the supply of drugs on February 3.
Craig Grimes, defending, said: “He is aware of the likely ultimate disposal in this case. He is the main carer for his parents and arrangements will have to be made for them.”
Detective Inspector Paul Riley from the proactive CID unit told the Tele the drugs could have caused “significant harm” and praised the work of his colleagues for catching McCormack.
He said: “The amount of harm caused by drug trafficking is significant. It is an on-going process all the time and this was in relation to that.
“We don’t know where the drugs were going but the assessment is that should that heroin get onto the streets of Dundee it will cause significant harm within the community.
“Taking £50,000 worth of heroin out of Tayside is significant. We don’t take out that amount every day. We don’t normally get told how much is coming in and it’s fair to say to was quite a good amount.
“It’s testament to the good work that all the officers did in this operation.”