MINI PHONES BEING SOLD TO SMUGGLE INTO PRISON

TINY mobile phones that are being sold online are designed to be hidden in inmates bottoms and smuggled into prison. One model claims to be “the world’s smallest phone” and weighs in at around 20g, made from plastic designed to slip undetected through security scanners.

According to figures from the Ministry of Justice, more than 20,000 mobile phones and SIM cards were confiscated in prisons in England and Wales in 2016.

The Zanco Fly is advertised on eBay as the world’s smallest phone with a “beat the boss” tagline.

“Boss” is the acronym for body orifice security scanner, which inmates must pass on their way into prison.

The product description states the model weighs 21g, is made from 100% plastic and comes with voice changing options.

In the reviews, one customer says it was “very compact” and another says “good wee phone”.

Another model, the Zanco Tiny, is advertised on eBay for £22.99 as “the world’s smallest ultra mini mobile phone”.

The product specification states it has a “small and discreet design” and is smaller than a standard-size disposable lighter.

A customer reviewing another model on Amazon said: “The positives of this phone are that it is very small and easy / painless to hide.”

The reviewer added: “The sound quality is excellent – it’s just like talking on a normal-sized phone.

“However, be warned that despite claiming to be plastic it must have metal in it as it does NOT beat the boss.

“For that reason I have to give it one star, as I imagine that most people will want a phone like this for a certain purpose.”

Although the phones are not illegal, the sites have strict rules about not selling items which encourage illegal activity.

According to eBay’s policy about encouraging illegal activity: “We want to ensure a safe experience for everyone on eBay.

“So selling or linking to items that encourage, promote, facilitate, or instruct other people to engage in illegal activity is strictly prohibited.”

The phones can be bought for around £25, but can be sold for far more inside prisons.

Phones are used by some prisoners to order drugs and co-ordinate criminal activity inside and outside jail.

Ministry of Justice figures show that more than 13,000 mobile phones and 7,000 SIM cards were recovered from prisons in 2016.

Last year, they announced a “crackdown” on drugs, drones and mobile phones in prisons.

A £2m investment has seen every prison fitted out with hand-held mobile phone detectors to step up the detection of illegal phones.

Further measures to clamp down on violence and the smuggling of illegal drugs, phones and weapons in prisons were unveiled by the Government in March.

In his first major speech as justice secretary David Gauke said new technologies had empowered gangs to be more “sophisticated and brazen”. He said Spice and other drugs could be “ordered with a ‘Deliveroo-style’ responsiveness on tiny mobile phones from prison cells and delivered by drones direct to cell windows”.

In October last year, 18-year-old Joshua Good was given a 12-month community order for trying to smuggle a phone into HM Prison Cardiff so he could ring his gran.

Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Eleri Rees said people smuggling banned items into prisons was a “huge problem”.

Good, of Hansen Street, Cardiff, set off a security scanner and handed the phone over after asking to go to the toilets.

In January, Karl Davies was jailed for 91 weeks after he was caught by a sniffer dog at HM Prison Parc trying to smuggle Spice and two mini phones past guards.

Cardiff Crown Court heard he was visiting his brother when he was caught with a package containing tobacco, drugs, miniature mobile phones and a charging cable in his trousers.

Judge Jonathan Furness QC said: “The courts will do everything they can to stamp out the supply of drugs and other items of contraband into prisons.”

In April, inmates at HM Prison Parc posted photos of themselves – apparently taken inside a cell – with their tops off, flexing their muscles.

Prison director Janet Wallsgrove warned any phones discovered would be handed over to police as evidence and inmates could see time added to their sentence.

Last week, mum Leila Hanford was jailed for four moths for trying to sneak a “very small mobile phone” into HM Prison Cardiff while carrying her newborn baby.

When she was interviewed by the police, she admitted concealing the phone in a body orifice.

Judge Tom Crowther QC told her: “Anyone who brings a mobile phone into prison must expect a prison term.”

According to the Crown Prosecution Service website: “Mobile phones are a serious threat to the security of prison establishments.”

The Prison Act 1952 makes it an offence to bring a mobile phone into prison, or to transmit sounds or images from within a prison using a mobile phone.