A former Fife soldier caught with more than £600,000 of drugs became involved in the narcotics trade after suffering “serious injuries” in a car crash, a court heard.
Calum McIntosh, 25, started dabbling with cocaine to “block out” the memories of being in a smash up with a group of mates in 2013.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how McIntosh’s drug and booze use quickly “spiralled” out of control.
In the weeks before police arrested him last year, he was consuming anywhere between seven to 14 grams of the white powder each day.
The dealer ignored pleas from his girlfriend to tackle his addiction – she had threatened to leave him but McIntosh continued to ignore her.
When officers did swoop on him, they found that he was possessing cocaine, heroin and cannabis which had a maximum street value of £654,700.
The story emerged after defence advocate Michael Anderson delivered his plea of mitigation to judge Lady Scott on Thursday.
His client had pleaded guilty to being involved in the supply of drugs at a hearing last month and sentence had been deferred for the court to obtain reports.
Jailing McIntosh for four years, Lady Scott told him that she had no other option but to send him to prison.
She added: “The court has heard how the maximum value of the drugs which you had in your possession had a maximum value of more than £654,000.
“You are clearly not at the bottom of the chain so I must impose a significant custodial sentence.
“However, I must balance this with the fact that you are here because of your addiction issues.
“The sentence of this court is four years. Had you not pleaded guilty and you were convicted following trial, the sentence would have been six years.”
McIntosh, of Glenbervie Grove, Dunfermline, was detained on June 10 2016 after police received intelligence that the crook was involved in the drugs trade.
The court heard how cops arrested him outside his home in Dunfermline and found the illegal substances in his car and in rooms throughout his house.
They also found quantities of Benzocaine – a drug used by drug dealers to cut up pure cocaine.
Prosecution lawyer Andrew Brown QC told the court that officers interviewed McIntosh late on the day he was arrested.
Mr Brown added: “At 22.55 hours, officers interviewed Mr McIntosh. He confirmed that he lived at the locus along with his girlfriend, that he owned the phone found in his car and that the cannabis recovered in the car was his.
“To questions regarding the other controlled drugs found in the house, he answered ‘no comment’ and he made no reply when charged with being concerned in the supplying of controlled drugs.”
On Thursday, the court heard how McIntosh became involved in drug dealing to help pay for his own habit.
Mr Anderson told the court: “He was involved in a car accident in 2013 with a group of friends and he sustained quite serious injuries.
“The consequence of his involvement in the accident resulted in his uses of alcohol and cocaine spiralling out of control quite quickly.
“It would appear that the reason he took the drugs was to block out what happened in the accident.”
Mr Anderson also told the court that McIntosh’s girlfriend threatened to leave him over his drug use.
He added: “She was concerned about his drug use. She threatened to leave him if he didn’t stop. However, he still continued to use the drug.”
Mr Anderson said his client also accepted he was going to jail and was going to use his time on the inside to improve his education.
He added: “He achieved five standard grades whilst at school. He has always taken the opportunity to improve his skills. Whilst he was in the army, Mr McIntosh took advantage of learning opportunities and he intends to take advantage of the courses that will be offered to him in prison.”
