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Drug dealers jailed over £30,000 cocaine haul            12/1/10

 

 

Two Hebridean drug dealers have been sent to prison after a £30,000 haul of cocaine was seized on Lewis.

 

At Stornoway Sheriff Court today, Derek Mackay, 29, was sentenced to two years and nine months.

 

He previously guilty to supplying cocaine at his home at 107 Newmarket, Lewis, and at the Pentland Road, Lewis, between 24th to 28th November 2008.

 

Donald Scott Macaulay, 22, of 3 Upper Carloway, earned a 14 month discount for admitting a similar offence of supplying the Class A drug at an early stage. He was jailed for two years and four months.

 

An earlier legal debate heard that the package was delivered through the post and received personally by Mackay on Monday 28th November.

 

But a drugs squad surveillance team lost him as he was went to hide it.

 

Mackay simply left the unopened block of nearly 600 grammes on the ground behind a wheelie bin in the bus lay-by at the Marybank end of the Pentland Road.

 

Police stopped the pair in a Vauxhall Astra at 5.40pm, after Macaulay finished work, wrongly anticipating the drugs were with them.

 

Both were strip searched but Mackay later led police to the drugs, the previous hearing was told.

 

Today, advocate Euan Dow said Macaulay was pressurised to accept the drugs consignment from a main supplier in Glasgow who wanted to push a large quantity into the islands.

 

He refused but caved in when told his family on Lewis and sister in Glasgow would be attacked.

 

He received a final warning by mobile phone text saying: “This must be your last chance. I’ve got 21 (ounces) for you. Get address. Call at 10.”

 

Mr Dow said: “The accused was at the very foot of the supply chain. He made little or no profit .”

 

Mr Dow highlighted drugs were normally diluted to as low as 14% purity - but this stash was only 4%.

 

He said Macaulay ran up huge debts and in 2007 was a small scale dealer to fund his then “chronic addiction” to ecstasy and cocaine.

 

He was a transformed character after getting out of prison last March for an earlier drugs supply offence. He showed genuine remorse, gave talks to youth groups of the dangers of drugs, and was involved with the church.

 

Mackay’s advocate said he displayed remorse and realised drugs “had an impact on the whole community.”

 

He previously dabbled in drugs for personal use but not since the offence occurred.

 

He explained Mackay only “expected a few ounces and panicked when much more arrived.”

 

Fiscal David Teale said Mackay bought electronic scales in Stornoway when the drugs arrived. He wanted £800 as payment - to repair his car and tide him over Christmas - but had money bags in case he was paid drugs instead.

Sheriff Colin Scott Mackenzie said illegal drugs were a “pernicious and evil trade” which even penetrated into the protected island society.

 

He added: “The sale and use of drugs is not only against the law but it does immeasurable harm to young people. Too many become addicts and too often that’s the end of a normal life.”

 

He warned dealing was a “different ball game” to using drugs.

 

The sheriff said Macaulay seemed to have turned a corner and may be reclaimed for civilised society.”

 

He pointed out that though Mackay was inexperienced in the drugs trade and may have been led astray he would not get a discounted sentence because his case “went to the rails” -  referring to a jury and witnesses being assembled for a trial three weeks ago before his last minute guilty plea.