Dingwall phone smash incident led police to Alness drug stash
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Police stopped a Ross-shire man to take a statement from him about an incident in Alness.
But as officers were talking to 27-year-old Stuart Johnstone in Dingwall on May 31, 2020, his phone rang and he immediately smashed it on the ground.
This strange behaviour prompted the police to seize the phone and analyse it later as they suspected he may have been involved in drug dealing.
They got a search warrant for Johnstone's then address in Firhill, and bags of pills and a Kinder egg filled also with tablets, were found in the property.
Inverness Sheriff Court was previously told that in total, 5985 etizolam were recovered, a Class C drug with a total street value of approximately £6000. The phone was subsequently examined and messages relating to dealing were found.
Johnstone, now of Cromarty House, Dingwall, admitted being concerned in the supply of drugs at an earlier hearing and sentence had been deferred for a background report.
Defence solicitor advocate Clare Russell told Sheriff Sara Matheson that her client had a troubled upbringing which he was struggling to deal with: "That often leads to drugs misuse to self medicate and historically he has had a significant drug problem.
"He had a limited recollection of the offences as he was heavily under the influence of tablets at the time. However he has made efforts to distance himself from that lifestyle and has regained high paid employment as a diver.
"He knows he is at a crossroads today and needs to take all the help on offer to him."
Sheriff Matheson told Johnstone: "You are getting into the territory of a prison sentence unless you sort yourself out. You would be better spending your money on counselling instead of cocaine."
He got 225 hours unpaid work.
