Cocaine courier caught with £50k drug stash jailed for 18 months

An Orkney drugs mule has been jailed for just over 18 months after being caught with a large stash of cocaine.

Duncan Jerome Chalmers or Omand was found travelling on the Hamnavoe ferry between Scrabster and Stromness with more than £50,000 worth of the Class A drug.

The 43-year-old got involved to help feed his habit, Kirkwall Sheriff Court heard at his sentencing today (Wednesday).

Instead, after getting caught, those who ran the drugs operation torched his car and he is now starting his first stint behind bars.

Sheriff Robert McDonald said he could see no alternative to custody for an offence which had the potential to cause “a great deal of harm” in Orkney.

Kirkwall man Chalmers previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine on October 17, 2024.

Police recovered the drug in two bags from Chalmers’ car on the ferry.

If sold in one-gram deals in Orkney, procurator fiscal Sue Foard said it could have fetched £51,240.

Solicitor Mark Allen said: “He fully accepts his involvement in this matter and that the drugs were due for onward transmission.

“He has a long-standing, significant addiction to cocaine and his remuneration for acting effectively as a courier was by payment by way of cocaine to him rather than financial gain.”

Mr Allen said the single father-of-two has no similar previous convictions and had admitted his guilt at an early stage.

“He was vulnerable to exploitation by those involved in drugs trafficking but he occupied the lowest level on the chain,” said the agent.

He added: “Those at the higher end of the chain were not best pleased and certain events took place including the torching of his vehicle outside his house.”

Mr Allen said Chalmers would co-operate if he was given a community-based sentence.

But Sheriff McDonald said the offence and the quantity of drugs involved require a jail term to serve as a deterrent and to mark society’s concern and disapproval about the offending.

The sheriff accepted he was at the lowest level of the supply chain, had no similar previous convictions and had admitted his guilt at an early stage.

But he took issue with Mr Allen’s submission that his client did not gain financially from his involvement.

He said: “He stood to get financial gain as you were going to obtain drugs that you wouldn’t have to pay for.”

Chalmers was jailed for a total of 582 days.