Lags caught on mobile thrones Inmates share illegal phones by f lushing them down loos
PRISONERS at Britain’s “Jihadi Jail” passed cont contraband mobile phones among ea each other by flushing them downdow cell lavatories. The plotplo was uncovered by managers at the c category A prison, which is packed with convicted terrorists. Mo More than 20 lags in a special unit for the most dangerous inm inmates at HMP Whitemoor, in Ca Cambridge, used a “linked sy system” of toilets to share the ph phones via pipes. They simply put a handset in a w waterproof bag attached to a string and flushed i it away, said sources. Because the connected pip pipework leads from one cell’s loo to the next, co convicts further down the line were able to fish theth phone out with wire from a coat hanger. If one flush failed the lag would haul up the phone by its string and try again, said insiders. The discovery of the ruse during an inspection is revealed in a report by the Independent Monitoring Board, released last week.
Terror
Inspectors said of the segregation unit: “Illicit mobile telephones can be passed from cell to cell via the toilet system.” They added that the unit – holding more than 20 “unruly” inmates and dubbed a “prison within a prison” – should be improved and its security reviewed.
A jail source said: “This plot was absolutely bizarre. It shows how far inmates will go to get hold of banned items like mobiles.
“With the terror background and connections many of them have, it is extremely concerning that they gained access to mobiles in this way.”
Four in ten inmates at Whitemoor are Muslim. Many were convicted of terror-related offences, hence the Jihadi Jail nickname. There are concerns over radicalisation there.
The Ministry of Justice said: “Progress remains to be made but HMP Whitemoor has already taken action to improve security.
“This includes intelligence-led searches for contraband and technology to detect mobiles.”
The jail has suffered past smuggling scandals – including a legal secretary and a female warder who both fell in love with killer inmates and tried to bring in drugs for them.