A CARER was caught with 15 packs of heroin in his car and claimed they were for a camping trip.

Joseph Jamieson, 46, was stopped by police on Great Western Road, close to Lincoln Avenue on April 14 this year.

When officers pulled him over they smelled a strong smell of cannabis, and decided to search the vehicle.

They found 15 wraps of heroin, worth around £555, stashed in the car near the Knightswood man’s left foot.

Unemployed Jamieson acts as a full time carer for his mother, who suffers from vascular dementia, which was said to be “a burden on him”.

He appeared for sentencing at Glasgow Sheriff Court, having pleaded guilty previously to a charge of possessing the heroin with the intention of supplying it to others.

His solicitor told the court Jamieson said the cannabis was for “social use” and added: “He smokes heroin two to three times per week.

“In relation to the offence, he was going camping with his friends and they were taking the drugs with them.

“He knows he has a long term drug problem that must be addressed.

“He had a very bad experience on methadone previously.”

The lawyer said Jamieson had been battling his drug addiction for 25 years, and had been unemployed for the last nine years so he was able to look after his mum.

He said his client was keen to avoid cuistody due to his caring commitments.

Sheriff Cameron, sentencing, told Jamieson: “ I do not buy this excuse that this is about care for your mother. I do not buy that.

“It is a very strange way to care for your mother going about on Great Western road in your car with £555 worth of heroin.

“You have got a previous conviction for offences under the misuse of drugs act for which you went to jail, so you obviously have not learned your lesson.”

Jamieson, of Keal Avenue in Knightswood, had his sentence deferred until next month and has to comply with a drug treatment and testing order.