clinton
09-09-2008, 03:02 AM
Mother smuggled heroin substitute into prison
Tuesday, September 09, 2008, 07:30
Be the first reader to comment on this story.
A WOMAN narrowly missed being jailed after smuggling drugs into Nottingham prison during a visit to her former partner.
Carla Thornley, 22, was seen by prison guards dropping a package of the heroin substitute Subutex into the prisoner's hand.
She said she had received the drugs in the post along with £15 for her train fare, and was told she would receive £500 for taking them in.
Nottingham Crown Court was told she agreed because she was struggling to pay her rent and feared she and her four-year-old son would become homeless.
Thornley pleaded guilty to supplying 4.63g of the class C drug at the prison in Sherwood on October 12 last year.
Andrew Tanser, prosecuting, said: "A prison officer observed her visiting an inmate, getting up and going to the toilet.
"She returned seeming to be nervous. She approached the inmate and dropped an object from her fist into his hand. Officers detained the two of them."
The court heard that Thornley owed £500 in rent and had shared her concerns with the prisoner, a convicted burglar who was the father of her son.
She said the package arrived soon after, but that she had not known it was coming.
Thornley, of East View, Mansfield, was given a nine-month sentence suspended for one year. She must also do 60 hours of unpaid work.
Recorder Deborah Eaton said: "What you thought you were doing when you were trying to smuggle drugs into one of Her Majesty's prisons is anyone's guess, particularly when you have a four-year-old little boy who needs his mother.
"This is a very serious offence. People who smuggle drugs into prison can expect to go to prison themselves.
"You are as close to going to prison as I have ever seen anyone."
Tuesday, September 09, 2008, 07:30
Be the first reader to comment on this story.
A WOMAN narrowly missed being jailed after smuggling drugs into Nottingham prison during a visit to her former partner.
Carla Thornley, 22, was seen by prison guards dropping a package of the heroin substitute Subutex into the prisoner's hand.
She said she had received the drugs in the post along with £15 for her train fare, and was told she would receive £500 for taking them in.
Nottingham Crown Court was told she agreed because she was struggling to pay her rent and feared she and her four-year-old son would become homeless.
Thornley pleaded guilty to supplying 4.63g of the class C drug at the prison in Sherwood on October 12 last year.
Andrew Tanser, prosecuting, said: "A prison officer observed her visiting an inmate, getting up and going to the toilet.
"She returned seeming to be nervous. She approached the inmate and dropped an object from her fist into his hand. Officers detained the two of them."
The court heard that Thornley owed £500 in rent and had shared her concerns with the prisoner, a convicted burglar who was the father of her son.
She said the package arrived soon after, but that she had not known it was coming.
Thornley, of East View, Mansfield, was given a nine-month sentence suspended for one year. She must also do 60 hours of unpaid work.
Recorder Deborah Eaton said: "What you thought you were doing when you were trying to smuggle drugs into one of Her Majesty's prisons is anyone's guess, particularly when you have a four-year-old little boy who needs his mother.
"This is a very serious offence. People who smuggle drugs into prison can expect to go to prison themselves.
"You are as close to going to prison as I have ever seen anyone."