John McCallum jailed over £100,000 gift-wrapped cocaine stash
A man who claimed a gift-wrapped cocaine stash was a Mother's Day present has been jailed for two years.
John McCallum was caught with more than £140,000 of the Class A drug in a car at Shandwick Square Shopping Centre in Easterhouse, Glasgow, on 29 March 2014.
The High Court in Aberdeen heard that police had been monitoring the 34-year-old after receiving a tip-off that he was delivering drugs.
McCallum admitted a charge of being involved in the supply of cocaine.
The court heard that McCallum's van was initially spotted delivering heroin with an estimated street value of £34,740 to a house in Dundee on 27 February last year.
He was later identified as the driver after the tracker on it was examined and showed he had travelled between Dundee and his home near Glasgow.
Police then received a tip-off that he would be making another handover on 29 March in Glasgow and he was pulled over outside the shopping centre.
When officers searched his Mercedes car, they discovered a gift bag with an item inside wrapped in pink paper.
McCallum, of Gartcosh, North Lanarkshire, told officers: "That's just a Mother's Day present."
When they unwrapped the item they found a parcel of white powder covered in duct tape. It was later identified as cocaine with an estimated street value of more than £140,000.
Jailing McCallum, judge Lord Burns told him: "You involved yourself in not one but two deliveries of class A drugs for the payment of £200.
"You are 34 years of age. You have a young family. It is tragic to see you in front of this court for playing a part in the evil trade of these addictive drugs."