Gang That Utilized Drones For Prison Drops Jailed

Frankie McCamleyHendon Magistrates' Court


Harry LowLondon


A gang that used drones to smuggle drugs, weapons and cellphones into prisons has been jailed.


An approximated 75% of drone drops across London's prisons was because of the 7 men who targeted prisons consisting of Wormwood Scrubs, Brixton, Pentonville and Wandsworth.


Shafaghatullah Mohseni, 29, Hashim Al-Hussaini, 28, Mohammed Hamoud, 22, Faiz Salah, 29, Zahar Essaghi, 51, Mustafa Ibrahim, 30, and Emanuel Fisniku, 25, were sentenced at Harrow Crown Court.


Det Insp John Cowell said: "This extremely organised gang thought they were outsmarting the police and jail authorities. What they didn't know is they underwent continual professional monitoring by Met officers."


All seven males admitted their functions in a "major, organised, and prolific business" to supply Class B and C drugs, and communicating list A and B posts into prisons. The hearing was held at Hendon Magistrates' Court, where some Harrow Crown Lawsuit are being heard.


The guys would take a trip by vehicle to the jails, frequently in the early hours of the early morning, and fly bundles filled with contraband through cell windows.


CCTV video footage shows some of the gang attaching fishing wire to a drone which was connected to a bundle and melted utilizing a lighter to secure it. This was then flown to the prisoners in their cells.


The gang also targeted jails in Norwich, Leicester, Onley in Northamptonshire and Bedford.


At the centre of the conspiracy was Mohseni, an Afghan national who was given leave to remain as a kid in the UK in 2003.


He was sentenced to 5 years and 3 months and will serve a minimum of 40% of that.


He was described in court as having the leading role behind nearly every drop, arranging flights, running the drones, co-ordinating drivers and lookouts, handling payments totalling more than ₤ 30,000, and communicating straight with detainees utilizing illegal mobile phones inside the jails.


His defence lawyer argued the 29-year-old had actually developed debts of about ₤ 30,000 from a gaming dependency and feared for his safety.


The court heard that one drone crashed and was seized by the authorities at HMP Wandsworth.


It consisted of marijuana, pills of Pregabalin referred to as "brand-new Valium", and tablets of Alprazolam frequently sold under the brand Xanax.


Another bundle was obstructed inside Wandsworth Prison, after cops alerted staff of a drone flight to a particular cell. The bundle contained cannabis, cigarettes and five iPhones.


Financial investigations revealed cash being transferred from partners of to money the operation.


In 2015, the chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor alerted of the increased risk drones would present for smuggling weapons and drugs into prisons.