INVERNESS SHERIFF COURT: Drugs were for acquaintances

Police obtained a search warrant for an Inverness house and found drugs and thousands of pounds worth of cash in the property.

Although the value and quantity of cannabis and cocaine amounted to 6.7 grams worth about £50, Richard Rankin (39) had £5630 and a mobile phone which contained messages consistent with supply.

Rankin’s house in Telford Road, Inverness was raided on April 30, 2021 and the analysis of the phone showed he had been selling the drugs between August 2019 and May 2020.

He admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A and Class B drugs and was ordered to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to prison.

But Sheriff Sara Matheson warned him if he did not comply, he would go to jail.

Defence solicitor Marc Dickson had successfully persuaded the sheriff not to send his client to prison immediately.

He said: “It was during the pandemic and he was supplying his acquaintances. This isn’t someone who was supplying to people on the street or inveigling people into a supply situation.

“What he was doing was, in essence, supplying to like-minded friends and acquaintances.”

Sheriff Matheson told Rankin: “The courts have made it clear that anyone dealing drugs faces a custodial sentence.

“But the law affords protection to someone who has never been in prison before if there is an alternative.”