A MAN who lost his job during the Covid pandemic turned to selling cannabis “to make some money,” a court has heard.

Richard Duffy, who was left struggling after being made redundant, turned to criminality in order to make ends meet.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how police spotted 28-year-old Duffy and another man dragging cardboard boxes across the ground in Kennishead Avenue, Thornliebank, at around 9pm on March 23 last year.

Officers on mobile patrol questioned the two men but neither would give an explanation as to what was in the large boxes, which were being transported to a nearby van.

A search of a number of boxes in the rear of the van led to cannabis weighing almost 500g being seized.

Duffy’s lawyer Ron Mackenna said his client was appearing in court for the first time.

“He knows it is a serious matter," he added. “This is a man who had been working until Covid. He was put on furlough and then, when furlough ended, he was unemployed.

“He was struggling financially and took the opportunity to make some money.”

Sheriff Bernard Ablett deferred sentence and told Duffy, of Thornliebank, he must appear at court again in four months' time for a review hearing.