A gambling addict who claimed he had agreed to store thousands of pounds of cannabis and cash at his Edinburgh home in exchange for payment has escaped a jail term
Xiaochun Yao was found with more than a kilo of the Class B drug all with bundles of cash amounting to more than £20,000 when police raided his Edinburgh home in 2023.
Yao, 41, said he had agreed to hold the cannabis and the money for a pal to help pay of his mounting debts due to gambling that had cost him his marriage.
Prosecutor Cheryl Porter told Edinburgh Sheriff Court police officers arrived at Yao’s home in the Gilmerton area of capital and entered through “an unlocked front door” on September 6, 2023.
The court heard Yao was in bed with his partner at the time and he was taken to the living room so a search of the property could be carried out.
The fiscal said the total amount of herbal cannabis found was 1019 grams that was valued at around £9400.
Ms Porter told the court officers also discovered green gripper bags and a backpack containing Yao’s driving licence and several bundles of cash totalling £21,450.
During a subsequent police interview Yao claimed the money had been “borrowed from friends as he couldn’t get to the bank” and had “denied any knowledge of the cannabis” and was not a drug dealer.
Lawyer Mr Seggie, defending, said his client is a Chinese national and though he denied any wrongdoing to the police he now “accepts full responsibility” for the offending.
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Mr Seggie said: “He had been asked by a former friend to store the drugs for a very short period of time in exchange for a financial reward that never materialised due to the police involvement.
“His position is that he was struggling financially and had a terrible gambling addiction which resulted in the breakdown of his marriage.
“He had borrowed money from a number of friends and family to try and repay some of the debt.”
The court was told Yao owes around £20,000 in unpaid credit cards, overdrafts and loans and the Royal Bank of Scotland has referred one debt to the court of recovery.
The agent added: “He has been suitably remorseful and suitably embarrassed by his actions and that his family has been brought into shame.”
Yao pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis from his home at Gilmerton, Edinburgh, on September 6, 2023 when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year.
He was back in the dock for sentencing on Wednesday where Sheriff Susan Sharp imposed a community payback order with two years supervision and a 300 hour unpaid work element.
Yao was also ordered to attend counselling for his gambling issues and attend mental health services when directed to do so.
