A pony-tailed “stoner” who claimed he only sold drugs to “nice people” is alleged to have made £100,000 in profit from the trade.
Stewart Somerville who gave cannabis to his own daughter said he was dealing drugs on the side while he was concerned about his children’s inheritance.
Somerville, 52, denied dealing drugs and claimed he was smoking around 40 joints every day in the wake of a close relative’s death.
But a jury found him guilty and the Crown has now claimed Somerville made almost £100,000 from the illicit trade in cannabis. Prosecutors allege that £26,922 of that sum is recoverable and lodged a proceeds of crime case against Somerville at Perth Sheriff Court on Monday.
Somerville’s Dunning home was raided and officers found a stash of cannabis and £8,000 in his bedroom, plus a further £800 under his pillow.
Two mobile phones were recovered and were found to contain incriminating messages, including: “Friend desperate for a smoke” and “are you going to be in tonight to get a wee bit?”
When interviewed by officers, Somerville told them: “I’m not a big drug lord. It’s just for friends, really. They’re nice people.”
He said he had inherited around £30,000 from his late mother’s estate and bought himself a large consignment of cannabis with it.
He told the jury he was not a drug dealer but simply had a prodigious appetite for the drug that led to him smoking as many as 40 joints per day.
Somerville said he had passed the drug on to a small circle of friends, and to his 20-year-old daughter, but rejected the Crown’s assertion that he was a drug dealer.
But the jury found him guilty of drug dealing from his home in April 2013 and he was jailed for two years. Prior to the start of the trial, he also admitted possessing cocaine and cannabis.
Depute fiscal Lynne Mannion said Somerville’s assertion that he was simply a “stoner” who bought an enormous amount of drugs was palpably untrue. She said it was clear he was dealing drugs to others and was found with over 600 grams of cannabis at home.
Ms Mannion said: “He wants you to regard him as a stoner who came into money and decided to buy a lot of drugs, and because he’s all laidback and generous he decided to give them away to his pals, even though they are worth about £8 a gram. The evidence against him is overwhelming.”
The court was told that when Somerville was arrested, he expressed concern about the money he inherited and whether it would be passed on to his children and grandchildren.
Sheriff William Wood deferred any decision on the proceeds case to a later date.