A man has appeared in court charged in connection with the discovery of cocaine with a street value of nearly a million pounds along with a Taser.

Police stopped a 23-year-old man who was driving a car at Dee Drive in Paisley, Renfrewshire, at around 5.15pm on Wednesday (Aug 19).

Following a search of the car and a property in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, 22 kilograms of cocaine, which police say is worth £880,000, and a Taser were found.

Man charged after £880,000 worth of cocaine recovered along with Taser in Paisley

Allan Ferguson, from Clydebank, appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court later on Tuesday facing charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and Firearms Act 1968.

Mr Ferguson made no plea and was released on bail.

Detective Inspector Steven Elliot, of the organised crime and counter terrorism division, said: “Police Scotland is committed to tackling serious and organised crime head on and these two recent examples illustrate just what we are up against.

“We are not alone in this fight and do rely on the help of our communities to help us.

“Anyone who has any information which can help us catch those involved in organised crime should call us on the 101 number, or if they wish to remain anonymous, then through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a 33-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man have been charged after heroin and cocaine worth £8,000 was found in Shetland.

The woman was arrested and charged after being stopped by police near the A970 in Tingall at 12.45pm on Tuesday.

Police then carried out searches at two properties in Tingwall and Mossbank which resulted in a man also being arrested and charged.

Chief Inspector Lindsay Tulloch said: “We are committed to ridding our local communities of drugs and we will continue to work to target those involved in this type of criminality.

“We rely on information from the public to help us gather intelligence and we will act on it appropriately.

“I would urge anyone with information about drugs in their community to contact their local police office through 101.

“Alternatively contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.”

A full report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director

Man charged after £880,000 worth of cocaine recovered along with Taser in Paisley