Baby seat cocaine courier jailed

Browne was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow

A drugs courier who used a hollowed-out child's car seat to store cocaine worth £99,000 has been jailed.

Marlon Browne, 22, took two young children with him to a drugs handover in a McDonald's car park in Perth, the High Court in Glasgow heard.

The court was told how Browne, from Liverpool, passed the drugs to George Duncan, from Perth, in October 2007.

Browne was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for his part in the deal.

Browne was caught after police followed Duncan, who is now serving a three-year sentence, from his workplace in Perth.

When he arrived at the McDonald's car park, police watched as Browne, who had a three-year-old and a six-month-old child in the car, passed the drugs to him through the car window.

Pay off debt

Duncan then handed Browne £10,000.

Prosecutor Alastair Carmichael said: "Browne's car was searched by police officers who recovered a child's car booster seat which had a hollowed-out base and appeared to be a hide which was suitable for concealing controlled drugs."

Duncan's car was also searched and officers found the cocaine with a maximum street value of £99,000.

Defence advocate Ronnie Renucci told the court that Browne had no convictions for drugs offences and had never used drugs.

He added that the father-of-two had been acting as a courier to pay off a debt.