Man busted for importing 8,000 ecstasy pills in CAT FOOD jailed for over four years

A MAN who tried to import more than 8,000 ecstasy tablets hidden in pet food has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Toby Bishop appeared via video link from Edinburgh High Court jail after pleading guilty to two drug supply charges last month.

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The 21-year-old from Forfar, Angus, was on bail for a previous drug offense when he agreed to pick up a packet of ecstasy pills at his parents’ house last year.

He claimed not to know the quantity or value of the drugs and claimed that the drug dealer who had asked him to take the shipment did not appear to be a “wholesaler”.

Despite his claims, Lord Braid told him his “willingness” to take the medication had resulted in “considerable harm”.

The justice chief said: “You were on bail for a drug-related offense and although you were acquitted of that charge, you committed other drug-related offenses while in prison.”

“Your point of view is that you just accepted a packet and you didn’t know the amount of ecstasy.

“Nevertheless, your willingness to receive this would have caused significant harm.

“There is a high risk that you will commit further crimes.

“They also supplied different drugs at the same time, namely cannabis and ecstasy.”

Bishop, who started using cannabis at the age of 13, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison, reduced from five years and nine months as a result of his guilty plea.

Police officers from the Nation Crime Agency searched his home last August after the packages were intercepted by British Border Police at a Coventry depot.

Bishop’s parents were also arrested and charged in connection with the offence, but the charges were dropped after their son pleaded guilty.

At the time their home was raided, his father was a forensic officer with the Scottish Police Authority in Dundee.

We shared last year how Robert Bishop, 59, was suspended from his job after his arrest.

When officers searched his home, 8,443 pills with a street value of £84,430 and £11,250 worth of cannabis were seized.

Messages found on the Telegram messaging app on his phone showed Bishop was advertising medicines for sale and had a fixed price list for things.

During the raid on the family home in Glenogil, near Forfar, officers had to handcuff Angus Bishop after he began behaving erratically.

After officers found a small amount of cannabis in his room, he told them there was more in the garage, I grew it.

Officers then found a quantity of cannabis plants with a potential value of £11,250.

Bishop’s defense attorney, Kris Gilmartin, told the court yesterday that his client had been “naïve” and failed to realize the “magnitude” of the operation.

He said: “The report makes it clear that my client abused cannabis from a young age.

“Then he switched to harder drugs, including ecstasy and LSD.

“He was mainly using cannabis and researching to grow his own cannabis, but he grew more than he expected.

“Mr Bishop then used the proceeds to fund his own drug use.

“When he agreed to take the package, he knew it was ecstasy, but he didn’t know the amount or the value. He received £100 for his consent.

“I can’t say he was exploited, but he was naive and didn’t realize the magnitude of the operation.”

His sentence was retroactive to July 11, 2023, when he was remanded in custody.

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