A brazen drug dealer who was caught with over £9,000 worth of cannabis in a Tesco carrier bag has narrowly avoided jail.
Joseph Sillars tried to escape police in Esk Drive on January 12, 2021. But officers saw him launch a bag containing the Class-B drug through the window of a BMW X5.
They were able to seize the drugs from the BMW and arrest Sillars, of India Drive in Inchinnan. Once the 35-year-old was arrested, he told cops the Tesco bag was, in fact, an Aldi bag containing clothes and not a hefty amount of drugs.
On Friday at Paisley Sheriff Court the IT worker claimed the drugs were just for himself and narrowly avoided being jailed.
Prosecutor David Gallagher previously told the court local cops received intelligence that there was a continuous smell of cannabis coming from a property on Mannering Road, Paisley.
Police had been told, on January 11, 2021, a male and female had been seen attending the property in a red Volkswagen with a large laundry bag with a smell of cannabis coming from it.
Mr Gallagher explained how Sillars was arrested on Esk Drive the following day outside St Paul’s Cathedral after being pursued by police.
The court heard: “Around 12.45pm on Tuesday, January 12, officers on plain-clothed patrol in an unmarked car observed the accused walking outside a property on Brediland Road carrying a Tesco bag.
“Officers were aware Sillars had been documented in the supply of cannabis and turned their vehicle around. Sillars then turned left onto Esk Drive and began to sprint uphill.
“At this time, officers observed a female in the passenger seat of the red Volkswagen with the window open talking to someone in a black BMW X5 that had parked directly next to it.
“Sillars reached the top of the hill and threw the Tesco bag into the open window of the X5 and continued to sprint away. Officers were able to stop the X5 and obtain the bag which contained a green herbal material which tested positive for cannabis.
“The amount totalled 1.4kg and the accused was arrested. During his interview, Sillars stated the carrier bag was an Aldi bag and not a Tesco bag and that it contained clothing, not cannabis.”
Mr Gallagher explained how cops identified the drugs to be recognised as 1kg which had a value of £3,800. However, he added that cops estimated that if the haul was to be sub-divided into recognised cannabis street deals of 2g, then the value would be £9,760.
Defence agent Charlie McCusker told how Sillars has been using cannabis since he was 16 and that, despite admitting a supply charge, his view is that the drugs were simply for himself.
Sentencing, Sheriff Gillian Craig said: “You had a significant amount of cannabis on your possession, you ran away from police and threw the drugs in to a high-value vehicle.
“It is your view that this was simply for possession but I am just not buying that. It appears you are putting cannabis before your children but that is not a matter for me.
“This is your first offence of this gravity and I am only just persuaded to step back from a custodial sentence – that was at the forefront of my mind this morning let me make that clear.”
Sheriff Craig imposed a “direct alternative to custody” ordering Sillars to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work in the community. In addition, Sillars was placed under supervision of the social work department for 12 months.
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