A cocktail bar owner fleeing undercover cops after picking up cannabis worth £110,000 crashed into a police car and flipped it onto its roof.
Callum Woods reversed a transit van into an unmarked car belonging to the drugs squad after they pounced on him in Edinburgh.
The cops gave chase and tried to use a “boxing-in manoeuvre” at a roundabout to halt the 25-year-old entrepreneur.
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But Woods’ van collided with one of the cars, with both spinning out of control and landing upside down.
Woods, who opened The Daiquiri bar in the capital, claimed he was compelled to take part in drug dealing by gangsters.He said thugs targeted his new business in an extortion campaign, first demanding cash then his assistance in their trafficking operation.
Woods appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Tuesday and pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of drugs and dangerous driving.
Fiscal depute Ross Price said police approached a van in the Jewel area after receiving drugs intelligence.
Mr Price said officers tapped on the window and found Woods inside.The court heard Woods put the van in reverse, colliding with an unmarked police car and causing extensive damage, before fleeing the scene.
The officers gave chase and Woods mounted a roundabout, causing them to take evasive action to avoid a smash.
Woods swerved between other vehicles, the court heard, and mounted a second roundabout in a bid to escape.
The prosecutor said cops tried a “boxing-in manoeuvre” at the Newcraighall roundabout to stop him, but the van struck a car which flipped over and landed in a field.
A police officer was injured but not seriously, the hearing was told.
The van ended up on its roof and Woods was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he was found to have suffered a lower back fracture.
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Cannabis in vacuum bags were recovered from the van following the incident on April 8 last year. The court heard the drugs could’ve fetched a maximum value of £110,000
Defence agent Richard Freeman said his client was an electrician who took over a £32,000-a-year lease for a city centre pub to realise his ambition of running a business.
Mr Freeman said Woods carried out renovation work and was preparing to open The Daiquiri on Morrison Street in December 2021.
The solicitor said Woods was then approached by crooks who wanted him to carry out money laundering, which he “resisted”.
The gangsters “threatened him with extreme violence” and demanded £10,000-a-week from Woods in a “protection racket”, Mr Freeman added.
He said Woods was “extremely frightened” and handed over £4000 before going into hiding to avoid the criminals’ phone calls and threats.
The gangsters then “changed tacked” when Woods returned and demanded he involve himself with drug dealing instead, the court was told.
Mr Freeman said Woods “panicked” when the undercover cops appeared as he didn’t know they were police.
His client had been “living a life of terror”, he added, although the gangsters had not been back in touch.
Sheriff John Mundy deferred sentence on Woods, of the city’s Duddingston area, until next month for reports.
The court was told the Crown would be making a proceeds of crime seizure application against Woods.
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