Prison guard faces jail after admitting smuggling drugs

A PRISON guard has admitted smuggling heroin at the private jail where he worked.

Kevin Coulter brought drugs into HMP Addiewell in West Lothian amid claims that his family had been threatened, the High Court in Glasgow heard.

Coulter was eventually snared by bosses and they seized heroin with a potential value of 32,000.

The shamed 29-year-old, who also worked as a part-time firefighter, now faces being locked up himself.

Coulter was employed by private firm Kalyx, which runs Addiewell, since the scandal-hit jail opened in December 2008.

Management got information on July 26 last year that custody officer Coulter had been smuggling drugs. The dad-of-two told a boss that day that he was resigning, blaming "inconvenient shifts". He was later confronted with a claim that he had been dealing drugs.

Judge Lord Woolman deferred sentencing until February 25.