Highland drug dealer jailed after being caught with £18.5k worth of cannabis
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A drug dealer who was caught by police with £18,500 worth of cannabis has been jailed for three years at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Michael Macrae, who had a previous conviction for drug supply, was said by Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald to have "a significant role in the drug trade, having thousands of pounds of drugs in your possession.
"I was told you earn £300-a-week so something doesn't add up. You knew what you were doing and you also knew the risks."
His solicitor Marc Dickson said: "He has used cannabis since his early teens. He had a troubled upbringing and he used cannabis to self medicate his depression and anxiety. He was supplying to like-minded people.
"He accepts he is the author of his own misfortune and is in a precarious position today."
Macrae, of Ashie Road, Inverness, had previously admitted two charges of being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug on May 9, last year.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that 33-year-old Macrae was in his car in the Hilton housing estate when police, who had intelligence that he was involved in dealing drugs, spotted him.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir said: "Officers stopped the vehicle but he sprinted away from them with a rucksack.
"Police gave chase and traced him to the rear garden of a property in Balloan Road, but he was no longer in possession of the rucksack. It was located in a nearby garden and contained five packages of herbal substance."
Mr Weir added that Macrae's DNA was later found on the bag. His vehicle was also searched and packaging was found in the footwell, similar to that in the rucksack.
A subsequent search of his then house in Evan Barron Road revealed several jars of herbal substance found in a freezer and cupboards.
Mr Weir said the maximum street value was £18,500.
