A man has been jailed after being caught trying to sneak drugs to a prisoner while visiting him at HMP Grampian in Peterhead.
Paul Chalmers threatened to “murder” police officers after being seen slipping the package to the man during the visit.
Prison officers’ senses had been “heightened” because they were familiar with the 47-year-old and were aware that he did not know the man he was visiting well.
Chalmers had been “told” to deliver the package, containing cocaine and etizolam, by people he owed money to, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
Fiscal depute Carol Gammie said Chalmers visited the prisoner at HMP Grampian during the morning of July 10 this year.
Prison visit seemed ‘strange’
She said: “When he was searched on the way in, the accused was found to have what seemed to be a shopping list.
“Because it had notations on it that the officers understood to relate to drugs, prison officers watched the two men whilst they were sitting at a visitor table.
“They saw the accused take a package from his waistband and hand it to the prisoner, who put the package in his mouth.
“He was later searched and the package was recovered by prison officers.”
Chalmers was escorted to a visitor search area where he paced around and said, “I’m going to f****** murder you”, before lunging towards one of the prison officers – trying to headbutt him.
Police were alerted and were given the package of seized drugs when they arrived.
While being searched following his arrest, Chalmers turned to the prison officer and said: “The next time I’m here, I’ll do your face in”.
As he was placed into the back of the police van, he said to the officers: “See people like you, they just need a good doing”.
Security’s senses were ‘heightened’
When the police van doors were closed, Chalmers lunged forward again.
The recovered package included two fingers of a rubber glove containing 0.62 grams of cocaine, worth £50, and 70 etizolam tablets, worth between £44 and £99.
Chalmers, a prisoner of HMP Barlinnie, pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and etizolam, assaulting the prison officer and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
His defence agent Sam Milligan said: “Mr Chalmers is well known to staff within HMP Grampian”.
He said the senses of the prison officers were “heightened” due to that, and knowing that there was “little or no connection between him and the prisoner he was visiting”.
They found the visitation appointment to be “strange at the outset”.
Mr Milligan added: “Mr Chalmers was not so much asked but told he was participating in this particular scheme and the persons who directed him in this manner were persons to whom he had accrued a degree of indebtedness”.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin ordered Chalmers to be jailed for 22 months.
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