Two men jailed for drone drugs drop at HMP Lowdham Grange
Reece Dhaliwal and Jamie Simpson were each sentenced to two years and three months after using a drone to drop cannabis into a Nottinghamshire prison.
Drone used to smuggle cannabis into Nottinghamshire prison
Two men have been jailed after using a drone to drop a package of cannabis and other prohibited items into HMP Lowdham Grange, newarkadvertiser.co.uk reports.
CCTV footage captured the package landing in the prison grounds shortly after 4pm on 5 September 2023. Prison staff recovered the package, which contained cannabis resin, deal bags, larger bags of cannabis, and a mobile phone.
Nottinghamshire Police deployed officers to the area and identified a vehicle of interest that had been near the prison moments before the drop. The Peugeot van was traced to the Daybrook area, where officers followed it and secured it after it pulled into a retail park.
Reece Dhaliwal, 25, of Crampers Fields, Coventry, and Jamie Simpson, 29, of Gingham Drive, Bedworth, Warwickshire, were found inside the van and arrested after prison staff confirmed details of the recovered package. A rucksack in the back of the vehicle contained a drone, a drone controller, cannabis resin, pills, and two burner-style phones. Further cannabis and another burner phone were found in the front of the van.
Fingerprint analysis later linked both men to items inside the package that had been recovered from within the prison grounds.
Both pleaded guilty to three counts of conveying prohibited items into a prison. At Nottingham Crown Court last Wednesday, they were each sentenced to two years and three months in custody.
Detective Constable Robert McGhee, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Officers and prison staff liaised very closely to successfully recover the package and locate these two suspects where they were caught red-handed with the drone."
McGhee added that forensic evidence proved the two men had handled items within the dropped package. "Smuggling drugs and other items into a prison is a serious offence because of the host of problems and dangers it creates for both inmates and staff," he said. "We will continue to work alongside prisons to prevent drone incursions from taking place."
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)