Teenager jailed for ‘professional’ prison conspiracy after police raid his home

A judge has hit out at the “flagship” of drugs and mobile phones being smuggled into prisons as he sentenced a man found with cannabis, a drone, a machete and phones at his home.

The case followed a “failed attempt” by smugglers with a drone to “convey prohibited items” into HMP Hindley, near Wigan, last May, the judge added. Rogent Daley’s fingerprints, 19, were “found on contraband seized by police” in Hindley, which eventually led police back to his home on Staycott Street in Moss Side, he was told Manchester Crown Court.

The court heard police raided Daley’s home last October based on “information they gathered about his criminality”.

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The judge, Recorder Jeremy Lasker, said the search revealed Daley’s involvement in a “significant” cannabis supply operation and his involvement in “conspiracies to smuggle drugs and phones into prison”.

The court heard a total of 18 bars of cannabis were found, which the judge said were “intended to be smuggled by air, by drone, into the prison”. “No fewer than” 20 mobile phones small enough to be easily concealed were also discovered by police, along with a drone, 148 grams of “flowering cannabis” and drug paraphernalia, £16,000 pounds in cash, a machete and “HMP property including bags and tags”, the court heard.

“Drugs and cell phones in prison are a scourge,” Recorder Lasker said. “They are very much appreciated. The evidence in this case is that the value of those goods (seized from Daley’s flat) in the prison is between £60,000 and £70,000.’

Other cell phones also found at Daley’s home indicated that he was dealing with members of the public. The court heard that advertising offers with “flash messages” were found.

The court heard Daley was arrested, charged and remanded in custody at Forest Bank Prison in Salford. A photograph of the interior of a prison cell on Daley’s Instagram account “came to the attention of the authorities” at Forest Bank, prompting a search of his appeal, the court heard. A mobile phone and a mobile phone charger were then found.

Recorder Lasker said there was a “real likelihood” that others, possibly older and with more criminal experience, were involved in the smuggling plot. But, he added, it appeared that Daley had an “intent” to smuggle phones and drugs into the prison.

“This was a professional setup using sophisticated drone equipment,” Daley’s judge added at a sentencing hearing on Friday. “Also, I remember you had that machete—no doubt as protection for your stash of drugs.”

He said, however, that his offending was “probably linked” to an older relative of his who is serving a prison sentence. Daley pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis; possession with intent to supply cannabis; possession of criminal property, namely cash; conspiracy to transport cannabis into or out of prison; conspiracy to transport a cell phone into or out of prison; possession of an iPhone charger in prison and possession of an iPhone in prison.

The latter two charges relate to the period Daley was remanded in custody at Forest Bank Prison for the other five offences.

Laura Broome, defending, said Daley was 17 or 18 at the time of the offence. “He conveys regret and remorse,” she said, adding that he started selling cannabis “to make some money.” “It’s clearly not Mr Daley’s own operation,” Ms Broome added. “He accepts that he will have to face the consequences.”

Daley was jailed for 32 months.

The case comes after the MoE told in March that inexperienced prison officers at HMP Hindley were told by inspectors they were struggling to deal with an “almost tsunami” of drugs. Tests have found that more than half of the inmates at HMP Hindley “have been on drugs at some point”.

The prison also faces ongoing problems with “very high” levels of violence, self-harm and links to organized crime. In a damning report, Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said HMP Hindley was facing an “uphill battle” and that overall it was “not yet safe enough”.

Hindley is a Category C training and resettlement prison for up to 600 men, around a third of whom are under 25.

A Prison Service spokesman said in response to the report: “We have a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison and through our new drug-free units – such as the one at HMP Hindley – we are helping the highest proportion of offenders to overcome ever. We are also stepping up staff training to better identify and support those with substance misuse problems, while our £100m investment in tough security measures such as X-ray body scanners , prevents, first of all, the entry of more illicit drugs into prisons”.