Glasgow man who took up drug dealing to pay loan sharks jailed
John McNeil, 49, was caught by police supplying cocaine with a maximum street value of £405,000 at Robroyston retail park
A man who became involved in drug dealing after borrowing money from loan sharks to pay for a family funeral has been jailed for three years. John McNeil, 49, was caught by police supplying cocaine with a maximum street value of £405,000 at Robroyston retail park in Glasgow on March 7 2017. The High Court in Edinburgh heard detectives searched his house in Lambhill, Glasgow, and found he was storing heroin worth £75,000 there.
On Tuesday, defence advocate Kevin McCallum told the court that his client was a first offender who became involved in crime after owing crooks cash. Mr McCallum told the court: 'He became involved with a group of people he came to know. He then borrowed £5,000 to pay for a funeral and headstone for his deceased family member. He borrowed the money in 2016 and in 2017, the people involved came for repayment. Mr McNeil was instructed to then take items to the place libelled in charge one. He was also instructed to store items in his house and that if he done this a significant amount of his debt would be wiped out.'
The court heard that police in Glasgow discovered what McNeil was doing and arrested him in Robroyston car park. Officers found him with one kilo of cocaine before finding just under half a kilo of heroin at the house. Specialist detectives reckoned the haul could have netted the dealers who owned the haul just under half a million pounds.
The arrest took place just a few yards from where notorious Glasgow gangster Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll was shot dead in January 2010. Mr McCallum said his client accepted his guilt and asked judge Lady Carmichael for mercy because McNeil was the main carer for his wife, who has a serious heart condition.
Mr McCallum added: 'He accepts he made the wrong decision, a criminal decision. He accepts a prison sentence is inevitable. The story emerged after McNeil pleaded guilty to being involved in the supply of cocaine and heroin at a hearing in the high court last month.'
Sentence had been deferred until Tuesday for the court to obtain reports. Passing sentence, Lady Carmichael said that had McNeil not pleaded guilty, she would have jailed him for four and a half years.
She added: 'There is evidence that you were subjected to a degree of coercion in this case. But there is not evidence to establish that there are special circumstances. Therefore a custodial sentence is inevitable. I take into account your familial circumstances. Had you not have pleaded guilty the sentence of the court would have been one of four and a half years.