I’m an ex-prison guard. These are the top five ways inmates smuggle drugs into prison… but how they sneak cash in is the next level

A former prison guard has lifted the lid on the extreme ways inmates smuggle drugs into maximum security prisons.

Lee Davies was a guard at Lancaster Farms Youth Offenders Institution, but in 2010 he was caught smuggling cocaine and mobile phones to prisoners and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The former officer said he was attracted by the chance to make quick money, earning an average of £22,850.

But now the rehabilitated offender, who has served four years of his sentence, is raising awareness and offering support to guards to avoid the temptation, stressing that it is “absolutely not worth it.”

Speaking to new YouTube channel DEEP for their explainer series DEEP X, he outlined the five main methods criminals can use to smuggle illegal goods into prisons, including condoms, currency and tennis balls.

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Lee Davies was a guard at Lancaster Farms Youth Detention Center before being sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2010 for smuggling cocaine and mobile phones to inmates.

Aerial view of HM Lancaster Farms prison. He pocketed £400 each time and, with officers’ salaries starting at around £22,850, he thought this would be an easy way to earn some extra cash.

In the interview with Deep X, he described the five methods criminals would use to smuggle contraband into prison

Tennis ball

Davies said tennis balls were an easy way to get products into prison. Criminals cut them open and stuffed them with drugs, steroids or SIM cards before throwing them over the ‘not so high’ prison walls.

Another option is for them to hit the balls over the walls with a tennis racket so that they can be “transported hundreds of yards.” This makes it easier for the conspirators to remain unnoticed.

However, Mr Davies added that once it is pinged on the training ground, anyone who sees it ‘goes for it’, meaning there is a much greater risk of being caught by a guard or having to fight a other prisoner who saw it. it flies over the wall.

He believed that the reason people use this method is because the financial gain is still significant even if you lose a few tennis balls or contraband in the process.

“It’s a numbers game and things in prison are worth a lot more. So once we fill it [the tennis ball] with cannabis, [there] is not that much [that can fit in the ball] but in prison it can fetch ten times as much.’

These can be stuffed with drugs, steroids or SIM cards and thrown in jail because ‘the prison walls aren’t that high’

Prison letters

All incoming mail to a prison is strictly controlled. If you put drugs directly into an envelope, there is a good chance they will be discovered, Davies said.

However, smugglers have tried to get around this by dousing letters with ‘spice or other drugs’. These drugs can then be heated by prisoners in their cells for use.

He went on to say that although all checks are thorough, it can still be difficult to detect, especially with the naked eye.

“If you dope this with drugs and send out five letters, you only need one to get through. We don’t have that much security, especially in the local jails and Cat D or Cat C [low security prisons]so that some will get through,” he told Deep X.

However, the latest trick of those who help smuggle drugs into prison is to dip letters in ‘spices or other drugs’, which are then warmed up by prisoners in the cells for use.

Drones

Drones are a growing problem for prisons. Thanks to technological developments, they can now fly over fences and hover right outside the window of a prisoner’s cell.

Mr Davies said: ‘They can hover outside someone’s window with precision. All you need is a mount and a bag of drugs and because they have cameras you can see exactly where it’s being delivered.

“It’s basically like Amazon, but ten times over.”

Punishments for these crimes would be similar to outside charges. Prisoners would be segregated within the prison if caught.

Before they are sent to court for official treatment, with a high risk of additional time being added to their sentence.

Drones have become a greater risk to prison guards. Thanks to advances in technology, drones can now fly over fences and hover right outside a criminal’s window.

Currency

Although transactions take place outside prison walls, physical money can still be used to transport drugs into the prison as visitors can bring cash into the prison.

“Cash will always be king, even in prison,” Mr Davies said. “That can [hidden] in a bra. It can be wrapped and folded.

“And men can secrete it in their butt and also in their foreskin.”

He went on to say that the reason it is such an effective method of smuggling is that officers need special powers to ‘search’ someone.

“If you’re going to do a strip search, you have to have special permission to search someone. So it’s a safe bet that if you can hide something in there, it’s not going to be found.”

He added: “People there will go to extreme lengths to get what they want and keep things from the officers.”

Although transactions take place outside prison walls, physical money can still be used to transport drugs into the prison as visitors are allowed to enter with money

Condoms

Mr Davies said condoms were probably the most common way of getting contraband into a prison because of their durability.

“They can be filled with drugs. They can be swallowed, held down the throat, the lengths people will go to astounds me,” Davies said.

Depending on the type of drug, someone can smuggle £4,000 – £5,000 worth of product into prison with one condom, so it’s very profitable.

Add: ‘[They] can also be excreted in the vagina or anus and then found in the toilet. The lubrication allows it to slide in just about anywhere.”

He went on to say that this form of smuggling was not easy and that people were usually sent on a ‘fake visit’ to a prisoner, actually with the intention of delivering contraband.

‘The people who do this are seasoned professionals. They may not even visit a visitor.”

Depending on the type of drug, someone can smuggle between €4,000 and €5,000 in one condom