NETWORK SMASHED
Moment prison nurse arrives at work with drugs hidden in Ribena bottles before lag lover busted over £1m smuggling ring
Nurse used network of accomplices to sneak drugs, phones and knives into prison
THIS is the moment a prison nurse arrived at work with drugs stashed in Ribena bottles before she and her lag lover were busted over a £1million smuggling ring.
Lags at HMP Lindholme in South Yorkshire were able to buy any drugs they wanted while Amy Hatfield was working there.
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The 38-year-old's sexual fling with inmate Joseph Whittingham, 35, was at the heart of the UK's largest-ever prison drug smuggling ring.
Footage released by police shows Hatfield arriving at work in 2019 moments before she was busted over the network.
Separate video shows cops searching her lover's cell as he yells at them claiming he hasn't got anything on him.
Just seconds later, the smuggled phone is discovered as the smuggling ring begins to unravel.
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Hatfield has now been jailed for ten years and two months, while Whittingham was given an 11 year and four month sentence.
A total of 14 others involved in the racket were also jailed for a total of 90 years, with one further defendant to be sentenced at a later date.
Accomplices included other inmates and family members who helped sneak heroin, MDMA, spice, ketamine and cannabis into the prison and launder the profits.
As well as drugs, the group also smuggled knives, phones and prescription pills - selling the black market items for up to ten times their value.
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Sentencing, Judge Kirstie Watson said Whittingham "exploited" Hatfield's feelings for him.
She told Hatfield: "When (Whittingham) first expressed feelings for you, instead of reporting it to your supervisors as you were trained to do, you embraced it."
Sheffield Crown Court heard the network was smashed following a four-year police probe that culminated in Hatfield being caught arriving at work with £1million worth of drugs.
Among the haul was MDMA, cannabis and Ribena bottles filled with spice, as well as tobacco, anabolic steroids, mobile phones and chargers.
The mental health nursing assistant would have the items delivered to her home before passing packages to lover Whittingham and other inmates Jordan Needham, 31, and Kieran Murphy, 26.
Hatfield would also give the contraband to convicted murderer Anthony Campbell, 38, to flog behind bars.
She arranged bogus appointments for the lags so she could have over the illicit packages.
Prosecutor Gordon Stables said: "She brought in such quantities and on such a regular basis that HMP Lindholme was flooded with drugs."
The smuggled spice was so strong staff at the jail fell ill after accidentally inhaling the fumes, the court heard.
Toxicology tests later revealed spice seized from Hatfield matched a batch that killed inmate Kyle Batsford, who was bullied into testing the drug.
Another prisoner was left in a coma for ten days and permanently lost the use of his legs after he was pressured by Needham into being a "guinea pig" for a new batch.
In total, there were seven spice-related deaths at the jail in the two years before Hatfield was detained but none in the eight months she was in custody.
Police began investigating the nurse after rumbling her affair with Whittingham in 2019.
The pair would meet for sex in prison and shared x-rated pictures on smuggled phones as they "made plans for a life together".
Hatfield managed to meet Whittingham up to three times a week under the guise of her job - with some prisoners who desperately needed her help forced to wait months for appointments.
Her arrest untangled a web of accomplices - including married Whittingham's wife Lucy and dad Paul, who were used as "bankers".
Other co-conspirators included killer Campbell, who shot dead a teen boy in Liverpool in 2004, and his mum Deborah Stoddard, 56.
She was described as a "driving force in the operation" after acting as a banker and buying, wrapping and transporting the drugs.
Needham and his partner Courtney Ward, 26, meanwhile "exploited almost every possible avenue" to sneak the illicit items into Lindholme.
Staff at the prison were left under "extreme" pressure as drug use behind bars became rife.
Mr Stables said "essentially any drugs inmates sought" were available due to the vast smuggling ring.
He added: "The police are not aware of another case of this scale.
"The quantities of drugs and phones within the prison were so great that prices dropped, making them even more affordable for inmates."
The 17 defendants all pleaded guilty to or were convicted of drug supply or money laundering charges between February 2020 and August this year.
Det Sgt Gareth Gent, of South Yorkshire Police's prison anti-corruption unit, said: "As a result of our tireless determination to uncover this criminal network, we have disrupted and dismantled an incredibly dangerous drugs operation that posed a significant risk to the prison population, its staff and the wider community."
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The smuggling ring in full
- Amy Hatfield, 38, of HMP New Hall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, conspiracy to convey phones into prison, conveying knives into prison and money laundering. She has been sentenced to 10 years and two months in prison.
- Joseph Whittingham, 35, of HMP Leeds, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, conspiracy to convey a knife into prison and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. He has been sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison
- Anthony Campbell, 38, of HMP Dovegate, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. He has been sentenced to 11 years in prison
- Deborah Stoddard (Anthony Campbell's mother), 56, of Shorefields Village, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, conspiracy to convey knives into prison, conspiracy to convey phones into prison, and money laundering. She has been sentenced to nine years and six months in prison.
- Kieran Murphy, 26, of HMP Altcourse, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. He was also found guilty by a jury after a four-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court in June 2023 of conspiring to convey knives into prison. He has been sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison
- Jordan Needham, 31, of HMP Dovegate, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. He has been sentenced to nine years and six months in prison
- Courtney Ward (Jordan Needham's girlfriend), 26, of Harvey Close, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to supply class B drugs. She has been sentenced to four years and six months in prison
- Audrey Needham (Jordan Needham's mother), 56, of Comfrey Close, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs and money laundering. She has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison
- Leighton Kemp, 29, of Erewash Gardens, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, conspiracy to convey phones into prison, and money laundering. He has been sentenced to five years in prison
- Paul Whittingham, 59, of Halifax Road, Bradford, was found guilty of money laundering at trial. He was found not guilty of conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison, and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. He was handed a 20-month suspended sentence and a community order in relation to the money laundering offence
- Lucy Whittingham, 37, from Bradford, pleaded guilty to money laundering. She has been handed a two-year suspended sentence and a community order
- William Francis, 56, of Hogan Gardens, Nottingham, pleaded guilty on the sixth day of his trial to possession with intent to supply drugs and conveying drugs into prison
- Lee Holmes, 44, of Sylvia Terrace, Stanley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey drugs into prison and money laundering. He has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison
- Aneeze Williamson, 30, of HMP Leeds, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. He has been sentenced to five years and five months in prison
- Kora Haley (Aneeze Williamson's girlfriend), 30, of Holme Lane, Bradford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to convey phones into prison and money laundering. She has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison
- Natalie Williamson (Aneeze Williamson's sister), 35, of West Royd Drive, Shipley, pleaded guilty to money laundering and being concerned in the supply of class B drugs. She has been sentenced to 12 months in prison
- Lydia Pinnington (Kieran Murphy's girlfriend), 23, of Clieves Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering. She was cleared of conspiracy to convey drugs into prison and conspiracy to convey phones into prison. She was handed a 14-month suspended sentence and a community order in relation to the money laundering offence
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