Prison officer, 29, paid £4k by lags to smuggle blocks of cannabis in his trousers

A PRISON officer who smuggled cannabis into the prison where he worked has been jailed.

Jack Nichols, 29, trafficked the Class B drug, hidden in his trousers, as part of a plot hatched with lags and crooks on the outside.

The drugs were discovered by sniffer dogs at HMP Stocken in Rutland during a routine search in August 2019.

Two blocks of resin wrapped in clingfilm, weighing just under 200g, were then found in the glove box of Nichols' car.

More drugs were recovered from a bedside table of Nichols' home in Grantham, Lincs., as well as just under 100g already hidden in a cell at the prison.

East Midlands Special Operations Unit found Nichols had been paid almost £4,000 to bring cannabis to 23-year-old inmate Joe Baggaley.

The prisoner's friend on the outside, James Hanks, 25, helped collect the drugs from Ivan Freeman-Lunt, 42, in Liverpool while Mitchell Dytiche, 24, was found to be involved in the bank transfers.

All five men, who had previously pleaded guilty to their involvement, were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court today (Fri).

Baggaley, of HMP Stocken, who was described as the "coordinator" and "organiser", was jailed for three years for for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

Freeman-Lunt, of Toxteth, Liverpool, was caged for two years and one month for the same charge.

Nichols pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class B drug, possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and conveying a prohibited item into prison.

He was jailed for one year and four months.

Dytiche, of Smallthorne, Staffs., was handed a 20 months sentence, suspended for two years for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

Hanks, of Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, also avoided jail after being give an 18 month sentence, suspended for two years for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

EMSOU's Regional Prisons Intelligence Detective Inspector Dan Evans said: "On the street, this haul was worth just over £3,055, but behind bars drugs are much more valuable.

"We estimated these men could have made in excess of £30,000 from the blocks we seized.

"And not just that, the rivalry that can come from the vying for such illicit commodities by inmates can have serious repercussions for the stability of the prison environment.

"What, according to Nichols, began as a means of paying off debt by bringing a bit of tobacco into the prison - a crime in itself - quickly spiralled down a slippery slope into drug trafficking.

"As an employee, he has breached trust and compromised the safety of his colleagues and those they are tasked with managing."

Prison governor Neil Thomas OBE said: "HMP Stocken will not tolerate corruption in any form and works in partnership with the police to bring to account all those who attempt to supply contraband into our prisons.

"The sentence imposed by the court today will be welcomed by our hardworking and courageous staff, whose safety is undermined by the dishonest actions of a small number of corrupt individuals."