Prisoners ring to order dope... and drones then fly it to cells’ windows
CONVICTS are using a drone delivery service ordered by phone to have drugs flown direct to their prison cell windows, it was revealed yesterday.
The secret air drops are one of many “sophisticated and brazen” ways in which prisoners exploit the “captive market” inside jail for drugs, it is claimed.
Justice Secretary David Gauke made the shocking claims in his first major address since his appointment two months ago.
He also said crime bosses smuggle in drugs by putting them in paint used in children’s drawings or ink in fake legal letters.
The minister warned the prison drug market is so lucrative that some criminals deliberately breach early release conditions so they can smuggle in drugs when they are sent back to jail.
Mr Gauke said: “Spice (synthetic cannabis) and other drugs are ordered with a Deliveroo-style responsiveness on mobiles from prison cells and delivered by drones direct to cell windows.
“The paint used in supposed children’s drawings is sent to their parents in prison laced with liquid psychoactive drugs, or the pages of fake legal letters purporting to be from a prisoner’s solicitor are soaked in drugs. Gangs engineer situations where a prisoner, who has been released from prison, deliberately breaches their licence conditions so they are sent back to smuggle in more drugs.”
Mr Gauke said nearly 6,500 prisoners – one in 13 – have links to organised crime.
But, unveiling a new raft of measures to tackle the problems, he said: “We are taking action to bolster our defences at the prison gate and going after the organised criminal gangs.
“I want them to know that as a result of the action we are taking, they have no place to hide.”
His department plans a new unit to tackle organised crime in jails and a review which could identify the kingpins and move them to more secure custody.
High-tech equipment is being installed at 30 jails to allow officers to download data from illicit mobile phones seized from prisoners more quickly.
Staff will then be able to access information on a device the same day it is seized, rather than having it sent away to be processed, which can take months.