A heroin courier caught trafficking drugs into Dundee has been jailed.

Garry O'Prey was caught driving on the outskirts of the city with his girlfriend and child in the car when he was pulled over by the police that were acting on a tip-off.

Appearing in Dundee Sheriff Court, the 29-year-old was told by sheriff Alistair Brown that the figures for drug rates in the city are in excess of anywhere else in Scotland, and that it was a "relevant factor" in his sentencing.

The figures revealed that 72 people in Dundee lost their lives to drugs in the last 12 months, which is more than double the number in 2016.

Fiscal depute Charmaine Gilmartin told the court that more than half a kilo of heroin - at almost twice the normal purity level found on the streets - was found in the car O'Prey was driving.

She added: "The drugs recovered would have had an as seen value of between £9000 and £13,500."

O'Prey, a prisoner at HMP Perth, pleaded guilty on indictment to being concerned in the supply of heroin on February 15 this year on the A90 Perth to Dundee road.

Sheriff Brown jailed O'Prey for four years, and said it would have been six had he not pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

He said: "According to figures I've seen recently drug deaths in Dundee are running at a higher level than anywhere else in Scotland.

"They are running at twice the national average. Almost all of those relate to opiates, in other words diamorphine, heroin.

"Those who are concerned in supplying class A drugs, particularly diamorphine, in or to Dundee must understand not only that the High Court has made it clear they will not be dealt with gently, but that I regard the rate of drug deaths related to the drug as a relevant factor."