Charity worker who helped prisoners with addiction jailed for smuggling drugs

A charity volunteer who visited youngsters in prison to help them with their addictions has been jailed for three years after admitting that he was simultaneously smuggling drugs into the UK.

Jack McGuire, 36, agreed to a series of parcels containing cannabis and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) worth some £100,000 to be posted from Canada and the USA to his home in Banknock, Stirlingshire.

He was arrested after the packages were intercepted at international sorting offices as they entered the country.

McGuire, a martial arts instructor, claimed to police who raided his home nine days later that he had thought they contained “designer clothes” and he was paid £300 a time to accept them on behalf of a friend.

He claimed it wasn’t until later that he suspected “something dodgy”.

He told police: “I got a couple of letters saying stuff had been stopped at the border and it was coming to this house. I thought it was a scam and trashed them.”

Officers found, however, that he had a spreadsheet detailing different strains of cannabis, together with tracking numbers.

Father-of-two McGuire, pleaded guilty to charges of importing and being involved in the supply of cannabis and THC between August and October 2023.

Solicitor-advocate Martin Morrow, defending, said the offences were “out of character” and McGuire had been suffering from depression.

Mr Morrow said: “He was at his darkest moment. That manifests itself in this ridiculous decision that he makes.”

He produced references to the court from the Scottish Prison Service, where he said McGuire had helped people in the past in Polmont Prison and the Young Offenders’ Institution, and from an organisation Mr Morrow named as Fire and Peace Recovery.

Mr Morrow said McGuire had also been involved in Scottish Recovery Month, held every September across a range of organisations involved with substance abuse and mental health.

Mr Morrow said: “With the Peace and Recovery charity, he is involved in helping people get from a terrible state into a place where they are able to become clear of illicit substances.”

Imposing the three-year jail term, Sheriff Derek Hamilton said: “According to these references, whilst he was in Polmont to support Recovery Month he is smuggling drugs into the country. When he’s in there saying he’s supporting through their addiction, at the same time he’s importing illegal drugs.”

He told McGuire, who appeared by video link from Low Moss Prison: “One of the testimonials stated that you had attended HMP and Young Offenders’ Institution, Polmont, in furtherance of your work in assisting people with their addiction issues in September 2023 to support Recovery Month.

“As I’m sure the irony is not lost on you, when you were purportedly supporting young offenders with their recovery from addictions, you were also supporting the abuse and feeding the need of drug users by smuggling drugs into this country.

“Smuggling drugs into this country is a serious issue, and the penalties require to be significant.”