Caught ready brake handed out! Prison officer, 34, at the center of a smuggling ring that supplied prisoners with drugs and mobile phones in cereal boxes, is jailed
A prison officer who was the leader of a smuggling ring that supplied prisoners with drugs, weapons and mobile phones hidden in cereal boxes has been jailed.
Martin Mills, 34, was caught red-handed smuggling prohibited items into HMP Hewell, which were hidden in packets of Weetabix and Ready Brek.
The court heard he was detained when he arrived to work at a Category B prison near Redditch, Worcestershire, after prison bosses became suspicious in April 2018.
Detectives were able to link several other people to the smuggling ring, including prisoners in the block where Mills worked.
Family members of the camps would deposit money into Mills’ bank account, and he would then take the contraband so that the prisoners could work and sell it inside.
Martin Mills, 34, was caught red-handed smuggling prohibited items into HMP Hewell
The items included drugs and cell phones. They were smuggled into prison in cereal boxes
Mills was an officer at HMP Hewell (pictured), a Category B prison near Redditch in Worcestershire
Photos show how the operation recovered drugs, phones, SIM cards, tobacco, Rizlas, wads of cash and even a knife.
Mills, of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was jailed for four years after admitting smuggling drugs and ‘List B’ items (mobile phones and related equipment).
Mills was convicted at Worcester Crown Court along with eight others of conspiracy to bring, throw and carry prohibited articles into prison.
Iain Maclachlan-Sim, 34, from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and Hamza Mohumed, 32, from Coventry, were jailed for four years.
Tony Graham Barrett, 28, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was caged for three years and two months, and David Ward, 53, from Coventry, was jailed for 21 months.
Jy Kennedy, 30, of Leamington Spa, received a seven-month suspended sentence and a £250 fine.
Isiah Gill, 34, from Birmingham, was given a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.
Other items smuggled into the prison include a knife, wads of cash and phones
David Ward (left), 53, from Coventry, was jailed for one year and nine months. Tony Barrett (right), 28, from Nuneaton, jailed for three years and two months
Hamza Mohumed, 32, from Coventry, was jailed for four years for smuggling
In addition to Mills, a further eight other people were convicted for their roles in running the smuggling ring at HMP Hewell (pictured
Leanne Miles, 32, from Coventry, was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for a year.
Ann Marie Sim, 52, of Leamington Spa, received a six-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Detective Constable Claire Masters, of West Mercia Police, said: “This was a complex and lengthy investigation and I am pleased that everyone involved has now been brought to justice.”
“Prisons are supposed to be places of safety, and the actions of Mills and his associates threatened that.
“Drugs have no place in prison and they hinder the rehabilitation of people there, often when they are most vulnerable.
“I hope these sentences demonstrate that we take all reports of crime seriously, regardless of who commits them or where they occur.”
