Prison officer jailed for smuggling drugs

A PRISON officer who smuggled heroin into jail for an inmate has been jailed for 40 months after a judge told him there was no alternative to custody.

Kevin Coulter, 29, who was described as "totally unsuited" for the job, took drugs into the privately-run Addiewell prison in West Lothian after his family came under threat.

Lord Woolman told Coulter at the High Court in Edinburgh: "That a prison officer should be a conduit for the supply of drugs is a matter of great concern. . .You did the very thing you were employed to detect and prevent."

The judge told Coulter he would have faced five years' imprisonment, but for his guilty plea, and said he accepted Coulter became involved because of threats against his family and that he had expressed genuine remorse.

But he added: "You should have immediately reported the threats to your employers and police."

Coulter, of Old Hall Knowe Court, Bathgate, earlier admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug at the prison between July 21 and 26 last year.