Underwear's weight exposes dealer

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A drug dealer who tried to sneak thousands of pounds worth of heroin into jail was caught because of his weighty underwear, a court has heard.

Darren Allan was jailed for 15 months after he admitted smuggling heroin into Perth Prison last October.

Perth Sheriff Court heard he had concealed the drugs inside chocolate egg novelty sweet containers which he had hidden in his underpants.

The 27-year-old was apprehended when he was searched by guards.

The court was told Allan, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, was being admitted on remand when a prison officer became suspicious.

When Allan took the underwear off, the guard hit the garment against a wall, causing it to burst open and reveal more than £6,000 worth of heroin.

The supply of heroin in a prison setting is an evil practice Sheriff Robert McCreadie

Allan's defence solicitor said his client had been an addict since an early age and had been arrested in connection with an assault.

David Bell said: "He ran up debts and made some enemies. He knew he would be kept in prison on remand once he was detected by the authorities.

"He was given a clear indication that unless he brought some drugs into jail with him he would be facing a very difficult time indeed.

"He effectively managed to get this quantity of drugs and banked it on his person. His position was that he would have handed over the drugs and used some himself."

Allan 15 month-jailed term was in addition to the five years he was already serving for his part in a shooting in Fife.

Sheriff Robert McCreadie told him: "You pled guilty to a charge involving a substantial quantity of heroin. The supply of heroin in a prison setting is an evil practice."