A Kinlochleven man who admitted having herbal cannabis worth around £970 hidden in the spare wheel well of his car was ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work in the community when he appeared at Fort William Sheriff Court this week. James Nicol, of Foyers Road, had pleaded guilty at a previous court appearance to committing the oftence on March 18 last year on the B863 road from Glencoe to Kinlochleven, near Invercoe campsite.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald heard how Nicol, 45, had been stopped by police officers on mobile patrol who became suspicious on smelling what they thought might be can-nabis. During the subsequent search of the vehicle, they found a black toiletry bag in the spare wheel well. ‘Inside that bag was another bag containing a herbal substance, which later turned out to be 165g of herbal cannabis with a value of about £970,’ said Procurator Fiscal Robert Weir.
Defence agent Hamish Melrose said his client had been quite candid when interviewed by the police officers, explaining the cannabis had been for his own personal use.