Two years for drugs dealer

Dec 24 2008

A HAMILTON man who ran up a £20,000 debt because of a cocaine habit was last week jailed for dealing the drug.

When officers raided Brian Poole’s Eddlewood home, they found various amounts of the class-A drug with a combined street value of between £7000 and £8000.

Police had forced their way into the Hamilton Place house on September 25 this year and found the accused inside.

Fiscal depute Paula Black told Hamilton Sheriff Court that the officers, who had obtained a warrant, asked the 45-year-old if there were any drugs in the property.

Poole replied that there were and indicated where they could find them.

Officers found seven bags of drugs, each weighing 28g and with a street value of between £600 to £700.

They also found 15 3.5g bags each valued at £100, and 40 one-gram bags, each valued at £40.

Poole told police he had a cocaine habit and the drugs were his.

But last Friday he admitted a charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

His lawyer, Charles Ferguson, told Sheriff Marie Smart that his client had accepted his guilt at an early stage and efforts were made to resolve the matter.

He pointed out, however, that the procurator fiscal’s office did not receive a forensic report until last week and this had delayed consultations with the Crown on the agreement of a plea.

Mr Ferguson said Poole accepted that he had been in possession of drugs worth from £7000 to £8000.

The purchase price would have been £5000, he said, and therefore his client had a lot to gain.

Poole’s drug habit had caused him to run up a £20,000 debt, said Mr Ferguson, and he had been put under pressure by others higher up the chain to supply the drugs.

But the accused, said the solicitor advocate, accepted his responsibility for the offence.

Mr Ferguson accepted that Poole had a terrible record for violence and had previously served seven- and five-year sentences. Poole, however, did not have any previous convictions for drugsoffences.

He accepted that Sheriff Smart could only deal with the matter through a custodial sentence.

Sheriff Smart told Poole that he had pleaded guilty to a very serious charge, but, taking account what had been said in the plea in mitigation, she sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment, backdated to September 26.