Youngsters alerted cops to rucksack that contained 7,000 pills

Crook jailed after bag of etizolam tablets traced to him

- EMYLIE HOWIE

A Barrhead man has been jailed for being in possession of more than £3,000 worth of drugs.

Thomas Anderson was snared when youngsters found his rucksack containing over 7,000 etizolam tablets in a Barrhead car park.

Police were on mobile patrol in June 2021 and, when the group saw them approaching, told officers they might want to check a rucksack that was stashed in the corner of the site in Aurs Crescent.

The rucksack was seized and, after forensic analysis was carried out, cops found the 46-year-old’s DNA and fingerprints on the drugs packaging.

Procurator fiscal depute Abi McKenna told Paisley Sheriff Court: “Around 7pm on June 22, 2021, police were on uniformed mobile patrol in the Barrhead area.