Inmate used a mobile to call ill father from his cell
PHONE FOUND DURING CLEAN
A MAN caught with a mobile phone in prison said he was using it to check on his cancer-suffering father.
Derby Crown Court heard how staff at HMP Sudbury found the phone during a “deep clean” search of the cell where Azad Shafiq was nearing the end of a drug dealing sentence.
The hearing was told a second phone was found which belonged to his cellmate, but “rather strangely” only the 26-year-old, of Normanton, was prosecuted.
Justin Ablott, defending Shafiq, said: “It was not his phone, it belonged to other people and he was given access to use it.
“His father had been struggling with cancer and is still very poorly and he had borrowed the phone to check on his father’s condition with his family while he was in prison.
“His cell mate was also found to have a mobile phone during the search by prison officers but rather strangely they chose to deal with his case internally, giving him a 35-day extension to his sentence
“For whatever reason there seems to be a distinction by the authorities between two people in a similar situation.”
Raglan Ashton, prosecuting, said Shafiq, of St Thomas Road, Derby, was nearing the end of the custody element of a 54-month prison sentence for possession with intent to supply class A drugs when the offence took place on July 14.
That saw him caught with 15 wraps of cocaine and £400 in cash.
He said: “There was a ‘deep clean’ search carried out and a mobile was found in the cell where the defendant was staying.
“He was interviewed and accepted the mobile was there but said it did not belong to him and that he had used it on a few occasions to get in touch with his family prior to it being recovered.
“He then refused to answer questions about who else was involved with that particular phone.”
The court was told how Shafiq was released from his drugs sentence in September but just two weeks later was sent a letter saying he was being charged with possessing the phone in prison, which he pleaded guilty to.
Mr Ablott said: “Since his release he has been working for an agency, trying to get a full-time job and has taken a computer examination.
“If he is given his liberty today he tells me he has been offered an assessment at Toyota with the prospect of full-time employment.”
Judge Shaun Smith QC sent him back behind bars for six months.
He told Shafiq: “It is made clear by the authorities in relation to this kind of offending that only a prison sentence is appropriate.”