Carer caught with drugs while working at Shotts Prison shown mercy by sheriff

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A carer caught with drugs while working at Shotts Prison has been shown mercy by a sheriff.

Ashley Malloy, 33, admitted possession of cocaine and heroin.

She was placed under supervision for 12 months at Hamilton Sheriff Court and must do 120 hours of unpaid community work.

Malloy, of St Catherine's Crescent, Shotts, and John Mack were accused of being concerned in the supply of drugs at the high-security jail between May 2021 and March last year.

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But Mack, 37, a serving prisoner at the time the drugs were found, had his not guilty pleas accepted.

Malloy pleaded guilty to reduced charges involving possession of cocaine and heroin.

Mack, of Nitshill, Glasgow, admitted having an illegal SIM card while behind bars. He has completed the four-year sentence he was serving at the time the drugs and SIM card were found in March last year.

That sentence was for drugs and serious organised crime offences.

Sheriff John Hamilton sent him back to prison for four months for the latest offence.

The sheriff said the amount of drugs Malloy had in the prison was "substantial". The cocaine alone weighed 42.5g and was worth about £1,200.

But he told her: "I'm conscious of the terms of the guilty plea which is to simple possession.

"You have little or no record and you are somewhat vulnerable. I'm persuaded there won't be a custodial sentence in your case."

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