London motorist had heroin and a knife when stopped by police in Inverness
Police were suspicious of a motorist they stopped in Inverness when he quickly placed his rucksack from the front into the back of his Kia.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that they decided to search 38-year-old Kieran Christie's vehicle on January 12, 2020 and found over £3200 worth of heroin concealed in the backpack.
A seven-and-a-half-inch long blade was also discovered and Christie, of Kerry Road, Depford in London was arrested and charged.
He appeared in court two days later and was released on bail, but it took over five years for justice to catch up with Christie who lived an itinerant lifestyle.
On June 20, this year he was back in court, pleaded guilty to the offences of supplying drugs and possessing a knife without reasonable excuse and was remanded in custody.
However there were difficulties in obtaining a background report which were resolved and Christie was finally sentenced by Sheriff Gary Aitken to eight months in prison, backdated to his remand date.
The court had been previously told that 12 wraps of the narcotic and £170 worth of cash plus the knife were recovered. All were forfeited.