A former prison officer has been jailed for six years and three months after being caught smuggling drugs into one of Scotland's top security jails. Heather McKenzie secretly ferried cocaine and mobile phones into Shotts Prison, in Lanarkshire, after befriending evil knife killer Zak Malavin.
The 31-year-old’s illicit scheme was rumbled following a joint investigation by the Scottish Prison Service and Police Scotland, who became suspicious about the growing number of drugs found in cells. McKenzie, from Forth, was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after pleading guilty to charges of supplying a prisoner and others with controlled drugs, phones and a SIM card.
The court heard that intelligence linked serving prison staff to the corrupt supply of controlled drugs and mobile phones to inmates. During the probe, McKenzie was identified as a suspected drugs trafficker. Further intelligence suggested she had also formed a close bond with Malavin, who is serving a life term for killing Andrew Curran, 41, to death in front of his sons during a fight in Glasgow’s Maryhill Park in April 2010.
