Moray man Brian Sweeney caught with 1000 valium tablets
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A Forres man arrested with more than a thousand valium tablets has appeared in court.
Brian Sweeney looked to police like he was under the influence when they encountered him on Moss Street in Elgin on December 10, 2020.
The officers used their legal powers to search the 26-year-old's rucksack.
Inside they found a total of 1025 tablets.
The court heard these had an estimated street value of between £500 and £1000.
Stephen Carty, Sweeney's defence solicitor, stated his client had not been involved in the purchase and sale of the tablets.
Mr Carty said: "He took the opinion that he was simply helping out a friend by passing them on to someone else.
"He didn't quite appreciate the gravity of that enterprise."
Sweeney also pleaded guilty to several other offences dating to both before and after his arrest for possessing the valium.
On June 15, 2020, he was stopped while driving a car on Burnside Place in Elgin.
Sweeney had no insurance.
He was by himself and also had no L-plates on the vehicle despite only possessing a provisional licence.
This offence was committed while he was supposed to be serving a home curfew for a separate matter.
Then, on February 11, 2021, Sweeney and others broke into the Elgin flat of someone he knew and stole £200, tobacco, cannabis as well as a charger for a computer game.
This offence was also committed while he should have been at home.
Finally, on August 15, 2021 Sweeney reversed a vehicle into a parked car on Old Bridge Court, Forres.
When challenged by a resident, Sweeney admitted damaging the car's passenger door.
At court yesterday, he pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov was told that Sweeney was currently living with a relative in Kinloss, but this was only a temporary situation.
His address was given as Grange Road.
The court also heard that he was planning to attend college in the near future.
Sweeney was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work for the community and given five points on his licence.
