Maddiston offender claimed he was bullied into holding onto cocaine for unnamed dealers

Mark Johnston, 37, said the ‘coke’, as he called it, was not his and he was merely holding onto until someone called him up and then came and collected it.

Johnston appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday having pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drug cocaine at his 2 Rainhill Avenue, Maddiston home on February 17 last year.

Ann Orr, procurator fiscal depute, said: “Police attended at his home address and told him why they were there he told them there was ‘coke’ in the kitchen drawer that wasn’t his. There were five bags in total containing a substance which was confirmed to be cocaine worth a value of £200.”

The court heard Johnston claimed the drugs were not his and he was being forced to keep them for someone else. He said people would contact him and they would attend at his address and he would hand them the drugs.

He refused to give police any names of the people involved.

It was stated Johnston suffers from depression and this “set of circumstances” had not helped.

Sheriff Alison Michie places Johnston on a supervised community payback order for 12 months and made him subject to a restriction of liberty order, meaning he must remain in his home between 8pm and 7am for the next five months.