A dopey drug dealer whose £23,000 cannabis stash was sniffed out by police has been locked up.
Darren Brown, 31, approached officers dealing with a firearms incident while clutching freezer bags that he was using to store the drug.
His Dens Road flat was later searched after officers had earlier smelled cannabis coming from the block.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that thousands of pounds worth of cannabis, along with scales, grinders and exactly £1,000 in cash were seized following a raid on Brown’s home.
“This is a very, very serious offence and the drugs could amount to up to £23,000,” Sheriff Tom Hughes said.
“A custodial sentence is the only way of dealing with this matter.”
The officers were on static point duty just before midnight on the night in question and had witnessed an item drop from Brown’s flat.
Brown later approached the officers in a “highly agitated” and “worried” state. Due to his demeanour, he was asked to walk slowly and keep his hands visible.
The officers were unable to leave their position but once the incident had been resolved, they discovered the item was a large bag of what appeared to be cannabis. This was contained in freezer bags similar to ones Brown had been clutching.
Prosecutor Eilidh Robertson said: “A warrant was executed on July 2 and several quantities of cannabis were recovered from inside his home. Some had been sub-divided and larger batches weighted 566.9g and 514.8g respectively.
“The small batches all weighed 1g and some weighed 5g. A plastic tub containing exactly £1,000 was recovered along with £99.50 in cash.”
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Brown later handed himself in to police where he said: “I’m not working, that’s why I’m doing it. I know I’m getting kept, I know it’s a five-figure sum.
“I’m holding it for somebody else.”
The haul was later analysed and found to have a potential street value of £23,230 if it was sub-divided further.
Brown pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis between July 1-2 on Dens Road.
Defence solicitor Theo Finlay said Brown was not working at the time and would have been suitable for a community-based order.
Sheriff Hughes jailed Brown for 16 months.
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