Birmingham family sentenced for smuggling drug-soaked letters into prisons

A Birmingham family have been sentenced after police found their plot to smuggle drug-soaked letters into UK prisons.

One of the men was already serving a prison for another conviction.

Larry Thomas Barnett was being investigated for a series of cash machine raids when police seized a number of mobile phones.

He was jailed for more than 20 years for this conviction.

Meanwhile, Police uncovered the drug smuggling plot thanks to the information provided by the phones.

West Midlands Police found that the family had received thousands of pounds from family and friends of serving inmates to smuggle the drugs.

Thomas Barnett had been soaking the letters in a garden shed with his father and step-mother at a property in Stechford.

On Wednesday (6 Nov), 38-year-old Thomas Barnett was jailed for two years and six months which will be added to his existing sentence.

Father Larry Graeme Barnett, admitted charges and was given a one year and seven month sentence suspended for two years and stepmother Andrea Simpkin who also admitted charges, was given a two year jail sentence suspended for two years.

Police found that the letters had been disguised as legal letters from a Birmingham based solicitor firm.

Prison staff seized the letters and they were later forensically tested, when a positive result for Class B drugs was discovered.

Detective Constable Vicki Brown who led the investigation said: “Forensic tests showed the sheets of paper have been soaked or sprayed with a synthetic cannabinoid, also known as spice or mamba.

“This is a substance that mimics the effects of cannabis and cocaine.

“The sheets of paper were concealed inside envelopes claiming to contain private and confidential material, such as legal documents, in the hope they wouldn’t be open to the same level of scrutiny as personal mail.

“This case shows that offenders will use increasingly innovative methods to try and smuggle drugs and other banned items into prison – but working with the prison service we are determined to stop the supply and prosecute offenders," she said.

HM Prison and Probation Services Deputy Director Caroline Mersey said: “Diligent staff working in close partnership with West Midlands Police gathered crucial evidence linking these criminals to the distribution of illicit letters - successfully securing their convictions.

“We do not tolerate drugs in our prisons and, as was the case here, people who break the rules face criminal punishment," she said.