As we’ve seen time and again, drug dealers aren’t necessarily the shrewdest of criminals. Sure, they can make a living for a short while, but most of their ‘careers’ take a sharp turn for the worse, after they are inevitably caught by law enforcement. This process can obviously be expedited if of course, said criminal is completely and utterly incompetent, which was clearly the case of one U.K. drug dealer. Incompetence is one thing, but have you ever heard of a case where a drug dealer accidentally leads police to a $5,600 supply of weed?
His own supply, that is.
A Crime of Ignorance
38-year-old Wayne Hastie, a welder hailing from Bailey Place, Lossiemouth, was pulled over for a routine police check, where officers noticed his car was sporting a badly-balding tire. Hastie, who was visibly nervous at the time of the check, was fully compliant with all of the officers’ wishes.
As a result of his minuscule blunder, Hastie was set to be hit with a standard fine, and to be sent along. But as Hastine began to fill out arbitrary paperwork in the backseat of the police vehicle, he had realized that his cell phone remained in his car. For reasons unknown, Hastie wished to go collect his cellular device from the car before finishing the paperwork.
The officers complied and escorted him back to his vehicle—a standard procedure. But when they reached the car, the cops noticed something in the backseat. It was an enormous bag of cannabis resin, worth around £4,170 or over $5,600 in U.S. terms.
According to fiscal deputy Lisa Marshall, ten 100 gram bags were found in the backseat, along with two cell phones that uncovered a variety of drug deals over the past two weeks. When his home was raided, he admitted to also possessing around £200 (somewhere around $280 USD) worth of amphetamine.
Hastie’s lawyer, Lee Qumsieh, argued that his client’s drug dealings were more of a necessity than an actual hobby. He claims Hastie’s involvement in the scheme was merely an effort to help pay off a close friend involved in a drug deal of his own.
“The police stopped him and found a minor defect with one of the tires. They were in the process of offering a conditional fixed penalty,” Qumsieh said, per The Courier. “They asked him to take a seat in the police vehicle and he was trying to give them a mobile number. The officers weren’t searching and had no intention of going near his car.”
“The officers go to the car with him to find the number and they see the bag of cannabis resin on display. That gives some understanding of his naivety. He is not someone who is routinely involved in this kind of thing.”
Final Hit: Drug Dealer Accidentally Leads Police To A $5,600 Supply of Weed
Despite the hefty haul, Hastie appeared to get off with a light set of penalties. Following the drug bust, he was ordered to carry out 200 hours of volunteer service and placed on a three-month curfew by the Perth Sheriff Court.
While Hastie certainly lucked out on his charges, it’s easy to assume he could have avoided this entire ordeal by simply living without his cell phone for just a few short minutes.
But that’s just a reflection of the society we live in today. At least some amphetamines were taken off the streets in the process.
