Prison guard jailed for smuggling drugs for killer inmate

Heather McKenzie pled guilty at the High Court in Lanark last month

A guard who was caught smuggling cocaine into a top security prison has been jailed for more than six years.

Heather McKenzie, 31, secretly brought drugs and mobile phones to inmate Zak Malavin at HMP Shotts in North Lanarkshire.

The mother-of-two had befriended Malavin, who along with elder brother Andrew, was jailed for life in 2011 for killing a man in front of his sons.

The scheme was uncovered during a corruption probe into prison staff.

A joint investigation by the Scottish Prison Service and Police Scotland followed suspicions about the growing number of drugs found in cells.

Malavin was found with cocaine, an illicit iPhone and a sleeping pill during searches of his cell.

The mobile revealed he had been in contact with McKenzie, who had also tried getting another prisoner involved.

In a search of her home, police found £2,500 in cash, phones, syringes, steroids and cocaine.

The court was told McKenzie, a first offender, appeared to have been paid money to smuggle the items into the prison.

McKenzie, from Forth in South Lanarkshire, pled guilty at the High Court in Lanark last month to charges of supplying a prisoner and others with controlled drugs.

The scheme was uncovered during a corruption probe at HMP Shotts

An operations officer at the prison since 2017, she also admitted giving a phone and SIM card to Malavin.

The charges spanned a period between March and October 2020.

McKenzie was sentenced to six years and three months in prison at the High Court in Glasgow.

Her lawyer said she had effectively been preyed upon during a "lonely" time in her life, after coming out an abusive relationship.

Laura Anne Radcliffe added: "It is only now, in hindsight, that she believes she was targeted.

"She was naive and easily manipulated. However, I do not say she was coerced - she willingly did it.

"She lost a job she was proud of, her income and her house."

'Abused her position'

Prosecutors said that during the investigation, which began in March 2020, McKenzie was identified as a suspected drugs trafficker.

Malavin had been jailed for 17 years in 2011 for his part in killing Andrew Curran in a Glasgow park the previous year.

Data recovered from the phones revealed McKenzie discussed smuggling drugs into the prison on six separate occasions.

The court heard that meetings with unidentified individuals were then arranged at various locations, including McKenzie's home address.

David Green, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said McKenzie had committed a severe breach of trust.

"The public rightly must have confidence in prison officers to uphold the law," he said.

"This individual abused her position and fell far short of the standards of professional conduct the public are entitled to expect from members of her profession.

"I hope this sentence sends a strong message to others involved in this kind of criminal behaviour."