A solicitor who attempted to smuggle contraband into HMP Edinburgh has been jailed.
David Blair Wilson was sentenced to four years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh today, following a joint intelligence operation by police and the Scottish Prison Service.
Officers acted on information from colleagues within the prison that Wilson intended to distribute drugs, mobile phones and other accessories to inmates and detained him during a visit to the facility on Thursday 6th October 2011. During a search of the 55-year-old’s car, various drugs and electronic equipment were found inside and he was subsequently charged with a number of offences before being found guilty in court last month.
Police Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service welcomed today’s sentence and warned of similar fates for others involved in smuggling contraband into Scotland’s jails.
Chief Inspector Richard Thomas said:- “Blair Wilson tried to exploit his client visits to smuggle drugs and other items of contraband into HMP Edinburgh. However, thanks to the excellent partnership working between police and the Scottish Prison Service, his efforts were thwarted and all of the items intended for distribution within the prison were seized.
“Officers in the Capital regularly engage with their colleagues at the prison to ensure the safety of staff and prisoners and deter criminal activity arising in or around the facility. Our joint-agency Prison Watch scheme allows the organisations to share information and gather intelligence on criminals, both inside and out-with the prison.
“Anyone who attempts to smuggle contraband, or who is involved in any other offences detected by police or prison staff will be robustly dealt with.”
A Scottish Prison Service spokeswoman said: “The presence of drugs and other contraband in our prisons is something we take very seriously. It is therefore gratifying that joint partnership working of this kind has achieved such positive results.
“We are confident that our ongoing work with Police Scotland will yield further similar successes in the future.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
