Police returned van hired for drug's bust with cannabis haul still in the back

Police hired a van for a drug's bust – then returned it still full of bags of cannabis. The careless officers forgot to take their haul out of the back before they let a Mitchell’s Self Drive worker collect the van. And John McKinnon, 33, who went to pick the vehicle up, couldn’t believe it when he saw what was inside. He said: “There were bin bags full of cannabis. There was no mistaking what it was. I went running into the office and we phoned the police.

“Straight away, they said someone was going to get their balls kicked. But it still took them an hour-and-a-half to come back out to collect it.” Police in Lanarkshire had hired the unmarked van for use by plain-clothes officers. John went to Coatbridge to collect it afterwards and drove it all the way to Rutherglen, near Glasgow, with the drugs in the back. He said: “They gave me the keys in a sealed blue bag, walked me out to the van, opened the gates and away I went.

"There was a strong smell of cannabis in the cabin but it was only when I got back to the office and opened up the back that I realized what was in it. I’ve no idea how I would have gone about explaining what had happened if I’d been pulled over during the journey. It’s scary.” Police eventually arrived to collect the drugs, and had to hire the van again so they could take it away and remove the cannabis. John said: “When they turned up, they were asking me how it had happened.

“They were dumbfounded. But there was no word of an apology or even a thank you for letting them know. I’m angry that they allowed me to drive it away like that.” A police spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that we are investigating a report that a vehicle hired by Police Scotland has been returned allegedly with what is believed to be police productions inside. Inquiries are at an early stage to establish the circumstances and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”