Court / Lerwick man jailed after admitting large scale cannabis supply
A LERWICK man who had thousands of pounds worth of cannabis as well as cash hidden under floorboards at his home address has been jailed for two and a half years.
Steven Priest pleaded guilty to a charge of being involved in the supply of the Class B drug when he appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court via video link from Grampian Prison on Thursday morning.
Police also found more than £30,000 of cash, scales and cash counting machines when they searched his flat at Lerwick’s Nederdale on 9 June this year.
Officers were executing a search warrant after receiving intelligence on the activities of the unemployed 59-year-old.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told the court that there were three others in the flat when police entered.
They noticed Priest standing in a recess in the hallway, and when searching that particular area, they found cash and drugs in a void below some loose floorboards.
The fiscal said that in total 49 logs of compressed cannabis and £30,250 in cash had been found in the flat.
Broken down to street value the cannabis was potentially worth £26,000, the court heard.
Defence solicitor Tommy Allan said his client was realistic that given his criminal record a jail sentence was inevitable.
The solicitor said: “Clearly there are other people involved in this,” and added that Priest had a long-standing addiction problem and got involved in supplying cannabis to pay some off his drug debts.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Priest that for a “serious offence” such as this a custodial sentence would have been inevitable in any event.
He jailed Priest for 30 months backdated to 13 June when he was first taken into custody.
Sheriff Cruickshank also granted a motion for the forfeiture of the equipment found.
A hearing to discuss the confiscation of the cash as well as social media devices belonging to others has been set for the 26 October.
Space2face
Space2face Shetland is an independent and confidential service which uses Restorative Justice and the arts to bring those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication. We enable everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward.
If you would like to reach out to us, please contact us via e-mail info@space2face.org or mobile 07564 832467.
If you would like to know more, visit our website www.space2face.org, or our Facebook page #space2faceshetland.
The project is also currently fundraising to secure office space in Shetland’s brand-new creativity and wellness centre, The Mission. If you’re interested in getting involved, or making a donation, head over to www.space2face.org/how-you-can-help