THE owner of a window blinds company in Johnstone who was caught by cops with £30,000 worth of cocaine has been jailed for 32 months.

Paul Duffy, 32, was detained following an operation that led to him being stopped in his black Range Rover on the morning of January 13 last year.

The dad-of-two had been spotted leaving his business, Perfect Window Blinds, in the town’s Macdowall Street by police, who had received intelligence that Duffy was involved in dealing drugs.

Officers found a white rock-like substance and a quantity of white powder in plastic bags during the search of his vehicle.

They also recovered almost £2,400 in mixed denomination banknotes in his left jacket pocket and his left trouser pocket.

After taking Duffy into custody, the items seized were sent away for analysis in the police lab, where they tested positive for cocaine.

The rock, described as a quarter kilo, contained cocaine with a purity of 75 per cent or above, which, if sold on for commercial supply, would have netted between £25,000 and £29,000.

The bag of powder contained 54.3 grams of cocaine, which would have roughly earned between £1,000 and £2,000.

Duffy admitted to being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug at a hearing last month. 

He was sentenced in Paisley Sheriff Court yesterday morning, where Sheriff Colin Pettigrew described him as “a courier acting for financial gain”.

He added: “The quantity of drugs was very substantial.Those who knowingly supply drugs, even as a courier, must be dealt with appropriately.

“Due to the gravity of the offence, there can only be one decision.”

The court was told Duffy had “no idea” of the value of the drugs he was delivering and only knew that he was transporting them.

His defence agent said: “He understands that he got involved with the wrong crowd and has now disassociated himself from these people.

“At the time, he wasn’t flush with cash. He had suppliers he needed to pay and believed this additional cash would be useful.

“This has come as a shock to him and the people who know him have been shocked that he was transporting Class-A drugs.”