A CLYDEBANK drug dealer caught with more than £12,000 worth of drugs has been jailed for more than a year.

Connor Smillie, of Overtoun Court, Dalmuir, previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine from his flat between February 16 and April 16, 2020.

Sentencing had to be deferred last month because Smillie, 22, had prioritised a job interview over meeting social workers who had been asked to prepare a report about him.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court was told on August 31 that police searched Smillie’s flat in West Court, Mountblow, and found a bag with 123.80 grams of cocaine, which would have been sold as a 125g deal worth £3,300. But divided into one-gram deals, it could have yielded £9,920.

Ten wraps of a mix of cocaine and mixing agent benzocaine worth £400 were found.

Another bag had 63.59g of cocaine and benzocaine, which wasn’t a recognised deal but could have been broken down into deals.

There was also a quantity of polythene bags, a sieve containing cocaine and benzocaine, and scales with both substances on them.

Another bag of 259.44g of benozcaine, which is not a controlled drug, was worth an estimated £375.

The total estimated value of the drugs was up to £12,840.

When interviewed by police, Smillie accepted the drugs belonged to him.

Defence solicitor Scott Adair said his client had previously been the victim of a violent attack.

He was hit on the arms and legs with a baseball bat, and his left hand was hit on his thumb with a sledge hammer.

Smillie, he said, was left with a broken arm and thumb amongst injuries.

Mr Adair said: “Since he was arrested, he has not had any involvement with these persons or any contact with them. He has been able to move on. He is in full-time employment.

“Mr Smillie is part of the [drugs] chain, and that has got to be punished, and he understands that.

“But given the circumstances, there is an alternative to a custodial sentence. You could impose 300 hours of unpaid work and a restriction of liberty order.

“He understands the precarious position he has put himself in.”

But Sheriff Frances McCartney said she was not persuaded there was an alternative given the amount of drugs, and jailed Smillie for 14 months.