Glasgow taxi driver caught with £80,000 worth of cocaine in cab

He insisted that the drugs weren't his but pled guilty today.

Glasgow taxi
Author: Connor GordonPublished 25th Jul 2024

A taxi driver was snared with £80,000 of high purity drugs in his car.

James Boland, 36, was caught with the cocaine in Glasgow's Tollcross on January 25, 2023.

Police had been given information about Boland and his Skoda being in possession of drugs in the Cambuslang area.

Plain clothed officers in an unmarked police vehicle stopped Boland and he was detained for a search.

READ MORE: Man jailed for smuggling £1m of cocaine into Scotland in hidden compartment

As a result, he was taken into custody where a deeper search of the vehicle was carried out.

A 'white block' was found when the taxi was searched

Prosecutor Sean Docherty told Glasgow Sheriff Court: "In the boot of the vehicle was a white block wrapped in polythene.

"A small sample was taken which had 80% purity.

"The cocaine was worth between £42,000 and 80,000 at street value."

Boland was arrested, cautioned and charged then replied: "They're not my drugs, I don't know, during Covid I fell on hard times and this week I have been told to collect that parcel then await an instruction."

Cabbie sentenced for drugs bust

Boland pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.

Sheriff Tom Hughes imposed 300 hours of unpaid work at today sentencing.

Boland was also put under supervision for two years.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.