A killer who was part of a £1m drug gang has been found dead in his prison cell.
Ronald Harrison was discovered lifeless by officers at HMP Addiewell on Sunday morning.
The 59-year-old was jailed in 2015 for his role in a prison drugs ring that was being masterminded behind bars by kingpin Stephen Nisbet.
Harrison, was on licence from a prison sentence for culpable homicide when he was caught with 1kg of heroin at his home in Beith, Ayrshire. He was sentenced to five years.
He was on remand in Addiewell while awaiting trial for an attempted murder charge.
A prison source said: “Harrison was under the influence of something the day before he died."
Harrison was part of a gang led by murderer Nisbet and four other members including Nisbet’s older brother James.
The seven men were handed sentences totalling 50 years following their trial in October 2015.
Nisbet used a stash of illicit mobile phones to arrange heroin, cocaine and amphetamine deals across Scotland under the noses of staff at Edinburgh prison, the High Court in Glasgow was told.
Police who smashed the gang recovered drugs worth more than £1.1million.
Nisbet’s 12-year sentence only stared in January last year when the minimum term for his life sentence was up.
Older brother James, 45, who helped him set up a recycling firm near their home in Shotts, Lanarkshire, as a front for their drugs deals, was given ten years.
Trial judge Lord Armstrong told Harrison: “You were supplying and storing a vast amount of heroin for others. The heroin in your possession had a maximum value of £100,000.”
The convictions resulted from a Police Scotland covert operation, Operation Lapstone, led by the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit (OOCTU).
An HMP Addiewell spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a prisoner sadly died at HMP Addiewell on Sunday, 10 April 2022. Next of kin have been informed and it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “Around 8.20 am on Sunday, 10 April 2022, police were informed of the death of a 58-year-old man within HMP Addiewell.
“Officers attended and the death is not being treated as suspicious.
“A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”
