A GANG of 11 men and women, aged between 19 and 51, have been caged for 37 years after being found guilty of using drones to import prohibited items into nine UK prisons.
HMP Hewell was among the jails targeted and the group were made up of inmates from various prisons and their accomplices on the outside.
Between July 2015 and May 2017, the gang trafficked prohibited items such as psychoactive substances, crack cocaine, cannabis, heroin, mobile phones, sim cards, Freeview boxes, hacksaw blades and screwdrivers into the Tardebigge prison, along with Stoke Heath, Featherstone, Birmingham, Oakwood, Lindholme, Stocken, Liverpool and Risley.
Items were wrapped together in packages and were sometimes concealed in drinks bottles. They were either thrown into the prison grounds or flown in using drones.
Inmates would either pick them up from the grounds or have them flown to a specific cell window for the prisoner to bring in using a broom handle with a hook in it.
They used mobile phones to contact each other when drop offs.
A number of packages were intercepted by officers and a police investigation was launched.
Using data from mobile phones and drones, the prosecution was able to identify the defendants as the perpetrators.
The recovered drugs were found to have an estimated value in prison of up to £370,000. However, there were multiple drone flights that were not intercepted so the true value of the drugs alone, based on an average delivery, is estimated to be up to £1.2 million.
At Birmingham Crown Court, ten of the 11 defendants pleaded guilty and one was found guilty after a trial.
Francis Ward, 46, was jailed for two years and four months after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited items into prison and one count of conspiracy to supply psychoactive substances.
John Hickinbottom, 51, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance. He was jailed for four years and eight months.
John Quinn, 36, was sent down for four years and eight months after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance.
Craig Hickinbotto, 37, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance. He was jailed for seven years and two months.
Mervyn Foster, 38, was caged for six years and eight months after pleading guilty to three counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison, one count of conspiracy to throw an article into a prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance.
Sanjay Patel, 38, pleaded guilty to possessing an electronic communication device whilst in custody and was jailed for five years and three months imprisonment.
Yvonne Hay, 41, received two years and four months in prison after being found guilty following a trial by jury of two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison and one count of conspiracy to supply a psychoactive substance.
Ashley Rollinson, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison. He was jailed for 11 months.
Lisa Hodgetts, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and was handed a 16-month suspended prison sentence
Terry Leach, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to convey prohibited articles into prison. He was given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
Artaf Hussain, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of being concerned in supplying a controlled drug. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Eran Cutliffe from the CPS, described the group as a ‘highly organised gang which worked in an extremely coordinated manner to import prohibited items into prisons’.
“They used various techniques, including drones, to smuggle contraband such as drugs, tools and mobile phones.
“The financial value of these goods was far greater in prison than in the outside world.
“The gang members sought to profit from the misery caused by prison drug use and they must now face the consequences of their actions.”
