Liverpool minicab driver jailed over Gretna heroin haulA minicab driver from Liverpool has been jailed for four years after he was caught near Gretna with heroin with a street value of more than £64,000.
Keith Hill, 41, admitted being concerned in the supply of the drug.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how a mobile patrol on the A74(M) motorway stopped a Volkswagen Golf he was driving and found the heroin.
Lord Menzies told Hill that he would have faced a sentence of six years but for his early guilty plea.
Advocate depute Andrew Brown QC told the court how the car stopped by police in February this year bore City of Liverpool private hire plates and Hill was on his own in it.
The prosecutor said: "The accused maintained that he was travelling to Dundee to pick up a friend and return to Liverpool.
"He advised officers that he had been stopped by police in Cumbria a short time before and that he was aware that Liverpool minicabs were used to carry drugs to Scotland.
"Officers considered this a rather unusual comment."
Threats claimHill allowed officers to check the car for its roadworthiness, but became agitated when the bonnet was opened.
The bulkhead of the engine was loose and a plastic bag containing packages was seen under a panel.
Mr Brown said: "The accused appeared deflated but denied any ownership of the items found."
Almost a kilo of heroin was recovered from the packaging.
Hill, formerly of Dunnerdale Road, Liverpool, admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug at Gretna Services.
The court was told that threats had been made to Hill's wife after a consignment of drugs was lost following the arrest of his brother.
Lord Menzies said that the explanation of being threatened was one that the courts heard regularly, although he was prepared to attach rather more weight to it in Hill's case than he would in some others.
Hill was previously jailed for seven years for drugs crime, but had decided "to turn over a new leaf" on release, the court heard.
He had been working as a mentor and support worker with a group helping ex-servicemen and former prisoners.
Lord Menzies told Hill: "I also give you credit that you have been involved since your release from the last sentence in an organisation supporting young people, ex-offenders and ex-servicemen."
However, the judge said "a very significant quantity" of the drug had been involved and jailed him for four years.
source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-s ... d-33864018
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