Probe after sniffer dogs find haul

A homeless charity are at the centre of a drugs probe after a delivery van was caught up in a £150,000 cocaine and heroin bust at a highsecurity jail.

Police using sniffer dogs at Edinburgh’s Saughton Prison found the haul – including valium and mobile phones – in microwaves and other household appliances.

The items were being dropped off by the Edinburgh Furniture Initiative – a social ent e r pr i s e r u n by t he Government- funded Four Square homeless charity. The driver was arrested but later released without charge.

Officers have seized the van and its contents while forensic experts try to collect evidence.

Police made the dramatic find last Monday.

The goods were being taken to the jail for portable appliance testing to check they were safe for use.

The charity, founded 35 years ago, are partly funded by both the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council.

They have been making the deliveries to the jail twice a week for the past 10 months.

The charity have received seven grants totalling £332,000 from the Scottish Government over the past decade.

Their chairman since 2010 has been David Blair, head of policy for looked-after children.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “We can confirm there was a recovery made that is subject to a police investigation. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.”

A police spokesman said: “A signi f icant quant it y of drugs were recovered at HMP Edinburgh on January 2.”

Four Sqaure’s chief executive Heather Arni could not be reached.

Charity v ice chairman Charles Bowman said: “I don’t really want to speak about it.”