Officers catch mechanic with kilo of cocaine

AN UNEMPLOYED mechanic was caught with almost a kilo of cocaine after police received confidential information that drugs were heading for the Edinburgh area.

Officers spotted a Vauxhall Astra being driven east on the M8 by Liam Bell and approached the car after he turned off heading for Kirkliston and stopped.

A black bin bag containing a package of 992g of cocaine wrapped in brown tape was found under the front passenger seat. The drugs were worth up to 49,600 on the streets.

Bell told police that he thought he had been stopped for speeding and said he "didnae ken anything about the drugs", the High Court in Edinburgh heard yesterday.

Bell, 28, of Westhouses Road, Mayfield, Dalkeith, admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug on 29 April last year. The judge, Lord Uist, deferred sentence until next month for a background report.