A 37-year-old man has today  been sentenced for attempting to smuggle a quantity of drugs into HMP Edinburgh.

On 5th November 2016 John Grant attempted to smuggle a large quantity of Class A drugs and other drugs related paraphernalia into HMP Edinburgh using a drone.

Grant pled guilty in court and was subsequently sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Detective Sergeant Bruce Coutts of Gayfield Pro-Active Unit said:

“Police Scotland has a zero tolerance policy towards drug related offences and we will continue to deal with any offences reported to the police as a top priority using every resource at our disposal.

Sergeant Graeme Rankin, Police Scotland’s Civil Aviation Authority Liaison officer said

“People need to be aware that a drone is classed as an aircraft and therefore is governed by aviation legislation and people may commit crimes and offences.

“In this instance, a drone was used to attempt to transport illegal drugs and mobile phones into a prison and he has been convicted of a range of offences.

“Please be aware that anyone with access to a drone needs to understand the guidance provided by the Civil Aviation Authority’s Drone Safe campaign. We don’t want people to be unwittingly committing a crime but it is your responsibility to understand the correct procedures for flying a drone before you do so.”

The public can assist greatly in helping police tackle drug related offences and we would urge anyone with information on offences of this nature in their area to come forward to police or contact the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.