Crack addict jailed for smuggling heroin worth £25k
A 43-year-old crack addict who smuggled heroin into Shetland to pay off a drug debt has been jailed.
Sean Penman, of Kelty in Fife, was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Lerwick Sheriff Court today (Wednesday).
Sheriff Cruickshank said heroin was a pernicious substance.
“It causes misery and it causes death,” he said.
Penman last month admitted trying to bring 246g of the Class A drug - worth almost £25,000 - into Shetland on the NorthLink ferry.
Officers searched his car as it came off the Hrossey on 14th January when they found the drugs as well as a friction lock baton.
When asked to give his name he replied “Sean Smith” in a short lived attempt to mislead officers.
Penman had been unable to attend court last month due to a lack of funds but was ordered to return for his sentencing this week.
Defence agent Iain McCafferty said reports prepared for the hearing were “fairly sympathetic” to his client.
Mr McCafferty acknowledged Penman had previous convictions but suggested it was “perhaps a lesser record than might be expected” for someone who has struggled with heroin addiction for most of his adult life.
The solicitor said his client managed to maintain his heroin habit without resorting to further crimes.
However, he said his situation “went downhill fairly sharply” when Penman started using crack cocaine and racked up a debt after his addiction took hold.
Mr McCafferty said Penman was offered the opportunity to clear his debt by couriering the drugs.
While the court previously heard the drugs had been valued at almost £25,000, Mr McCafferty noted the heroin’s purity was only seven per cent, indicating it had little chance of fetching a higher price by being further cut.
He said the couriering operation was “not a sophisticated one”.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank noted Penman’s case was the second he had heard that day involving people bringing drugs and offensive weapons into Shetland.
While the sheriff accepted Penman had become a courier due to his addiction, he said it was “not an unsubstantial quantity of heroin”.
“In the circumstances,there’s no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence,” he said.
