A cocktail bar owner who crashed into police cars while fleeing undercover cops with £110,000 of drugs has dodged jail.
Callum Woods flipped a police vehicle onto its roof while trying to escape drugs squad officers in Edinburgh.
The 26-year-old, who runs The Daiquiri bar in the capital, claimed he was compelled to take part in drug dealing by gangsters.
Woods said thugs targeted his business in an extortion campaign, first demanding cash then his assistance in their trafficking operation.
He appeared for sentencing at the city’s sheriff court on Friday when a sheriff said he was “grappling” with the “credibility” of the threats claim.
Sheriff John Mundy questioned why Woods never went to police and whether his allegation had since been probed by the force.
But the sheriff said he was “prepared, with some hesitation, to give it credibility”.
First offender Woods was given the maximum 300 hours of unpaid work and put on an eight-month curfew between 7pm and 7am.
He was also disqualified from driving for 16 months.
He pled guilty in February to being involved in the supply of drugs and dangerous driving.
Woods, who also works as an electrician, reversed a transit van into an unmarked police car after officers caught him picking up the cannabis haul.
The cops gave chase and tried to use a “boxing-in manoeuvre” at the Newcraighall roundabout to halt the entrepreneur.
But Woods’ van collided with one of the cars, with both spinning out of control and landing upside down.
At Friday’s hearing, defence agent Richard Freeman said Woods committed the offences after “living hour by hour, minute by minute in fear”.
Woods agreed to become involved in drug dealing to “fend off” gangsters, he added.
Asked by the sheriff if his client reported the threats to police, Mr Freeman said Woods had been concerned “violence would be meted on him if he did”.
The solicitor said Woods recognised he should’ve reported it “with hindsight”, and was unaware if officers had subsequently investigated the matter.
Sheriff Mundy said it was a “very difficult case” which would usually result in a prison sentence.
He told woods: “I have been grappling with the explanation that’s been given to me about why you did this.
“If it’s true, it’s a very sad case and an exceptional one.
“I’m prepared, with some hesitation, to give it credibility, and that’s why I have decided not to send you to prison.”
At the previous hearing, fiscal depute Ross Price said police approached a van in the Jewel area after receiving drugs intelligence.
Officers tapped on the window and found Woods inside, the prosecutor said.
Woods, of the city’s Leith area, fled the scene, swerving round other vehicles and mounting a roundabout before the crash.
A police officer was injured, but not seriously, when their vehicle flipped and landed in a field.
Cannabis in vacuum bags were recovered from the van following the incident on April 8 last year.
Mr Freeman told that hearing how Woods was preparing to open The Daiquiri on Morrison Street in December 2021 when crooks demanded £10,000-a-week in a “protection racket”.
He said Woods handed over £4000 before going into hiding to avoid the criminals’ phone calls and threats.
The gangsters then demanded he involve himself with drug dealing, Mr Freeman added, and Woods “panicked” when undercover cops swooped as he didn’t know they were police.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
