The Chronicle

ATTACK OF THE DRONES

PICK OF THE DAY

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DRUGS are big business in prisons. On the inside they can can fetch four times their street value and serving time can become a business opportunit­y for king pin convicts.

And now there is a new, modern way to sneak drugs into prison – deliver them directly to cell windows using drones.

Contraband used to be thrown over the walls or smuggled in by visitors, but it seems crime is moving with the times.

This fascinatin­g film follows the investigat­ion and prosecutio­n of an astonishin­gly prolific criminal gang using drones at UK prisons.

Although the prisoners don’t have access to the money, the business means family members can pay off debts.

Gareth Sands, governor of HMP Hewell, says: “We’ve got

THE PROSECUTOR­S

quite a high percentage of men involved in organised crime groups who are looking at getting drugs into the prison, and will say to staff: ‘I earn more in a

EMMERDALE

week than you do in a year.’ And some of them do, through extortion, exploitati­on and organised crime.”

But to prosecute the offenders, police need evidence of who’s involved on the inside and who’s flying the packages in.

Filmed over a year, with access to the CPS and West Mercia police, this film follows Senior Crown Prosecutor Eran Cutliffe as she works to build a complex case against a crime network.

“It’s an enterprise, they’re making money on their own terms,” says Eran.

Expect tense scenes as they piece together the evidence to prosecute this audacious gang.

 ??  ?? Leading Counsel for the Prosecutio­n Michelle Heeley QC, CPS Senior Crown Prosecutor Eran Cutliffe, Junior Counsel for the Prosecutio­n Antonie Muller (all inset) work with Detective Constable Andy Farmer, Detective Sergeant Jamie Francis, Detective...
Leading Counsel for the Prosecutio­n Michelle Heeley QC, CPS Senior Crown Prosecutor Eran Cutliffe, Junior Counsel for the Prosecutio­n Antonie Muller (all inset) work with Detective Constable Andy Farmer, Detective Sergeant Jamie Francis, Detective...

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