Two men who flew a drone over a prison to drop off drugs have found themselves behind bars.
Police responded to a drone incursion at HMP Lowdham Grange on September 5, 2023.
CCTV footage showed a package being dropped into the grounds shortly after 4pm.
Prison staff recovered the package and found it contained cannabis resin, deal bags and larger bags of cannabis, and a mobile phone.
Police teams were deployed to the area, and a vehicle of interest was discovered to have been close to the prison moments before the drone drop.
The Peugeot van was traced to the Daybrook area, followed and secured by officers when it pulled into a retail park.
Reece Dhaliwal and Jamie Simpson were inside the van and were arrested when prison staff confirmed details about the recovery of the package.
A rucksack was found in the back of the van containing a drone, drone controller, cannabis resin, pills and two burner-style phones.
Further cannabis and another burner phone were in the front of the vehicle.
Both men’s fingerprints were later found on items within the package which had been recovered from the prison.
Dhaliwal, aged 25, of Crampers Fields, Coventry, and 29-year-old Simpson, of Gingham Drive, Bedworth, Warwickshire, both pleaded guilty to three counts of conveying prohibited items into a prison.
At Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (1 July) they were each jailed for two years and three months.
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.
“Forensic evidence was then secured which proved the two men had handled items within a package dropped into the prison grounds.
“This teamwork has allowed us to stay a step ahead of these criminals and bring them to justice.
“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.
“We will continue to work alongside prisons to prevent drone incursions from taking place.”
