Model says thug forced her to smuggle drugs into jail
AMODEL who smuggled cannabis into a jail says she was forced to become a drugs mule by a hoodlum who threatened her after they met on Facebook.
Chloe Buckland, 26, was caught sneaking 50 grams of the drug to an inmate at Buckley Hall prison in Rochdale but she escaped prison after showing police messages threatening to burn down her family home.
Guards were suspicious because the former fashion student looked ‘anxious and nervous’ as she met prisoner Ian Smith at the Category C jail. He was later searched in a side room and found to have a wrap of cannabis in his pocket.
Buckland - a regular on Liverpool’s nightclub scene - claimed Smith was her cousin during the visit but later showed police a number of abusive texts she had received, saying she had been hounded by the hoodlum known only as ‘Joel’ after she met him through social media.
She alleged he asked her to take drugs into jail and when she refused he sent her threatening messages warning he would burn down her family home so she begrudgingly gave in to his demands.
She went to a covert meeting at Kirkdale train station in Liverpool and picked up the drugs from a mystery fixer who was waiting in a car. She then made the drop at the jail the following morning.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, in Manchester, Buckland, of Bootle showed no emotion as she admitted bringing prohibited articles into prison. She was sentenced to six months jail suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete 180 hours unpaid work.
Prosecutor Miss Nicoletta Amatino said: “A guilty plea was entered on the basis she was coerced into bringing the articles in through text messages, which were provided to police. This has affected her mental health and she has been diagnosed with chronic anxiety.
“She feared for her safety and the safety of her family. She received no financial gain and had no understanding of the operation or the size of the operation.
“She was sent messages which were threatening, one of them was threatening to burn her house down. She told the police these were from a man called Joel. The defendant had replied quite forcefully to these messages first.”
The incident occurred on June 29 last year when Buckland attended the jail falsely claiming Smith was her cousin. at
In mitigation, defence counsel Miss Stella Hayden said: “This offence was out of character and she has shown clear remorse. She had been treated for anxiety, has been receiving counselling.
“She is anxious to put this matter behind her.”
Sentencing Judge Angela Nield told Buckland: “Often people tell the court they were coerced into this type of matter - but it is wholly unusual for somebody to have such graphic evidence to support their case.’’