A teenage drug peddler faces being locked up after he admitted dealing in more than £10,000 of lethal drugs.
Baby-faced Lewis Raitt, 18, of Brackens Road, was found with etizolam, a Class C drug, when police raided his home after a tip-off.
Fiscal depute Charmaine Gilmartin told Dundee Sheriff Court that police had known “for some time” that Raitt, who has no previous convictions, was supplying controlled drugs.
Officers searched his house and found 10 white tablets, an iPhone box containing £340 in cash and a bag containing 10 bags of white tablets.
The fiscal said Raitt’s stepfather returned to the house during the search, at which point the dealer told officers: “It’s mine, the bag and the stuff, it’s mine. It’s nothing to do with them, it’s just steroids.”
The fiscal added: “The tablets were confirmed to be etizolam and in total 10,315 tablets were recovered with a maximum illicit value of £10,315.”
Etizolam, also known as street valium, has been linked to at least 17 deaths in Dundee last year.
Although no cocaine was found during the search, the court heard drug-related text messages found on Raitt’s phone showed he was concerned in its supply .
Raitt’s solicitor Douglas McConnell said dealing was a “financial thing” for his client, who was 17 at the time of the offence. He said: “This has had a significant effect on him.”
Sheriff Alastair Brown responded: “Etizolam has a significant effect on people who buy it, thinking it is diazepam.”
Raitt admitted that between January 13 and November 30 last year, at Brackens Road, he was concerned in the supply of cocaine; and on November 30 last year, he was concerned in the supply of etizolam.
Sheriff Brown continued Raitt’s bail but warned him he made “no promises”. He deferred sentence until September 18 for a report and a restriction of liberty order assessment.
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