Cocaine hidden in shoes.

A SMUGGLER who hid cocaine worth more than pounds 20,000 in his shoes was jailed for four years yesterday.

Mark Christie White had 440g (almost 1lb) of the Class A drug in the soles of the trainers as he flew in to Edinburgh from Amsterdam.

At the High Court in Glasgow, White, 29, of Lyninghills, Forfar, admitted attempting to import the drugs last October.

Alastair Brown,prosecuting, said Customs officers had been tipped off about White and were waiting for him.

He said: 'Scans and swabs showed he had been in contact with cocaine.

'But it was not until the soles of his shoes were torn away that two packages of the drug were found.'

Ashley Edwards, defending, said White had gone on the trip after being approached by a mystery man.

He said: 'He was driven to the airport and given a ticket to Holland. He was given the shoes to wear on his return.'

A Customs source said: 'When his shoes were examined, they found specially constructed compartments in the soles.

'This is the first time we have discovered such a concealment in Scotland.

'It has happened a few times before in England, most recently last week at Manchester Airport but it is new for us.'

CAPTION(S):

STASH: One of the trainers