‘Little cogs in big machine’: young trio avoid prison after drugs offence

THREE young people from England who transported thousands of pounds worth of cocaine to Shetland last year have avoided being sent to prison.

Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday how Malachai Blackhurst, from Manchester, Ellie Walker and Rhys Burke, both from Denton, had been tasked with transporting drugs to the isles on the NorthLink ferry to pay off debts.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said while drugs have a detrimental impact on individuals and communities, the trio involved – who had no previous convictions and were all under the age of 25 – were only “little cogs” in a bigger machine.

Avoiding prison terms, they were given community payback orders and were also told not to enter Shetland again for the next two years.

They previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the class A drug on 19 November 2025.

Lerwick Sheriff Court previously heard that the value of the cocaine would have been around £11,860 if it was sold as seen. However if it was broken down into small deals it could have raised more than £41,000.

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The trio were caught with 336 grams of cocaine after being stopped by police acting on intelligence at the Holmsgarth ferry terminal in Lerwick.

The three were taken to Lerwick police station to be searched, and all produced a number of packages which had been internally concealed.

Blackhurst, 24, had four packages, while 23-year-old Walker had three packages, and Burke, 23, had two.

The packages were eventually produced at the police station when the trio became concerned for their own health.

The court heard on Wednesday that those who would have profited financially from the operation would not have been those in the dock, and instead people higher up the chain.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Blackhurst had been “exploited” to transport the packages in a bid to pay off his own drug debt.

Liam McAllister, representing Walker, said his client’s trip to Shetland emanated from a “disastrous decision made in the throes of addiction”.

Meanwhile Erin Buchanan, who was speaking on behalf of Burke, said her client had run up a drug debt of £1,000.

The court also heard how those in the dock were trying to make positive improvements in their lives, including in some cases by stopping using drugs and seeking support.

Referring to social work reports, the defence solicitors said there was an alternative to prison for their clients – a suggestion which Sheriff Cruickshank sided with after taking a ten-minute adjournment to consider matters.

He said drugs “not only destroy lives, but they have a huge detrimental impact in the communities” they are brought to.

But Sheriff Cruickshank said: “It’s not the cowardly organisers of the venture who are going to make financial profit that are here before the court.”

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The sheriff said he had to take account of the lack of any previous convictions, while the age of the three accused meant young person sentencing guidelines needed to be used.

He also accepted there was genuine remorse from the accused, who showed an understanding of the effect transporting drugs to communities can have.

Sheriff Cruickshank placed each of the accused under a community payback order which included two years of supervision and 250 hours of unpaid work. Drug treatment orders were also put in place for 12 months.

Finally, the sheriff issued an order prohibiting the trio from entering Shetland for a period of two years.