A woman who smuggled drugs hidden inside her bra into Perth Prison has narrowly avoided being locked up for repeatedly flouting a strict curfew order.
Serial offender Gillian Smith was tagged in September after pleading guilty to bringing contraband into the maximum security jail.
The 39-year-old was spotted by staff delivering a suspect package to prisoner John Rae.
The parcel contained a mobile phone, cannabis and liquid cannabinoid THC.
Smith, from Arbroath, returned to Perth Sheriff Court this week and admitted repeated breaches of her community payback order.
The court heard she had left her home outside her curfew hours, despite a “stark warning” to stay home between 7am and 7pm.
She was given one last chance to stay out of jail after her lawyer made “a plea for mercy.”
‘Misrepresented’ breaches
Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC commended Smith for attending appointments and completing hours of unpaid work.
“It is said that these are significant achievements that will work towards your recovery,” she said.
“The commitment you have shown in relation to your restriction of liberty order is, however, a different story.
“You have repeatedly and regularly failed to respect the order of this court.
“There are no excuses and you seem to think you have a right to decide when you can leave your home.”
The sheriff said Smith had “misrepresented” her breaches to social workers, claiming they were just “a couple, with the longest being for 13 minutes.”
“These breaches are far more significant than that,” Sheriff Bain said.
“And they would all have been avoidable.
“I fail to understand why the threat of custody does not urge your compliance.”
The sheriff said she had considered jailing Smith at her sentencing hearing in September.
“Custody is at the forefront of my mind today,” she told Smith, as she wept in the dock.
“I have given you opportunity after opportunity.
“If it had not been for the reports placed before me and your solicitor’s persuasive comments, there would be no alternative.
“However, it is stated in the report that a return to custody would be hugely detrimental to you and the progress you have made.
“It is only for that reason I am going to give you one last opportunity.”
The sheriff allowed the order to continue but warned Smith she would be jailed if there were further breaches.
In what he described as a “plea for some mercy,” solicitor Gary Foulis said his client was properly engaging with psychiatrists and social workers for the first time in her adult life.
“She is aware that she has let you down again,” he told the sheriff.
Criminal history
The court previously heard how Perth Prison staff became suspicious of Smith when she attended as a visitor on July 5 last year.
They kept a close eye on her on CCTV.
She was spotted removing the package from her bra, before approaching Rae and hugging him.
Smith then placed the package down the back of his shirt and tucked it into his waistband.
When guards asked Rae to hand over the parcel, he did so without hesitation.
It contained 5.56g of cannabis, worth about £80 at prison prices, and 2.5ml of THC with a value of around £50.
Smith has a history of drug-related offences.
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