Man jailed after £1.2m drugs haul found in Glasgow flat

• Anthony McGurran was acting as a ‘storeman’ to pay off debts to drug dealers

• McGurran was jailed for four years and four months after a raid uncovered cocaine and heroin

Anthony McGurran, 26, was acting as a “storeman” for the cocaine and heroin, to pay off a debt running into hundreds of thousands of pounds to dealers.

A judge jailed McGurran for four years and four months, warning that the term would have been “well into double figures” if he had been a major player in the drugs scene and not someone used by others.

McGurran admitted being concerned in the supplying of cocaine worth £710,000 and heroin valued at £542,000 on 25 July at his home in Viewpoint Place, in the Balgrayhill/Springhill area of the city.

The advocate-depute, Murdoch Mactaggart, said detectives, acting on intelligence, obtained a search warrant for the one-bedroom housing association flat, and found McGurran and two others. The accused stated: “I don’t know exactly what’s in the house.” He said the others were not involved.

Officers recovered cocaine in a holdall in the wardrobe, and heroin in Nike and Donnay shoeboxes in the wardrobe. The holdall also contained quantities of paracetamol and caffeine.

“These are common adulterants of diamorphine (heroin),” said Mr Mactaggart.

McGurran said he lived alone in the flat, but another individual, whom he refused to name, had keys.

“He stated that he had become involved as he owed hundreds of thousands of pounds as a result of a cocaine habit. Although he claimed not to know what was in the packages, he claimed that he was looking after them as a means of paying off his debt,” said Mr Mactaggart.

The defence counsel, Tony Graham, told the High Court in Edinburgh that there was clearly a “massive headline figure” for the value of the drugs, but those who became involved as storemen or couriers would not necessarily know their worth.

“He is certainly not a man capable of organising a supply chain and should not be seen as a controlling mind behind this.

He was seen as weak in the minds of those controlling the operation and profiting from it,” added Mr Graham.

Lord Turnbull said it was obvious from background reports that McGurran’s young life had been chaotic and troubled in many different ways.

“I accept that that background has led to a significant level of vulnerability on your part, and you were not a prime mover in this enterprise nor a person likely to make anything by way of profit. On the other hand, I have to take account of the fact that without the service you were prepared to provide, a supply of drugs could not have been assisted in the way it was,” he added.

“I cannot do anything but take very seriously the significant value of the drugs in this case...something in excess of £1 million. The only appropriate disposal is a custodial sentence and had you been anything like a prime mover, the sentence would have been well into double figures.”

Lord Turnbull said the term would have been six years and six months, but it would be discounted by one third because of McGurran’s early plea of guilty.