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A prison guard, who was the ringleader, was caught red handed trying to smuggle prohibited items into HMP Hewell concealed in packs of Weetabix and Ready Brek

Two men and a woman from Leamington have been sentenced for their part in a prison smuggling ring in which the prison guard ringleader was caught red handed bringing in prohibited items concealed in packs of Weetabix and Ready Brek.

Martin Mills, 34, of Bromsgrove, was caught when trying to smuggle items into the category B jail HMP Hewell, in Tardebigge, near Redditch in Worcestershire, after prison bosses became suspicious in April 2018.

Detectives were able to link several other people to the smuggling ring, including prisoners housed on the block Mills worked on.

Cereal boxes and the goods that were seized when being smuggled into HMP Hewell. Release date – November 16, 2023. See SWNS story SWMRprison. A prison officer who was the ringleader of a smuggling gang supplying inmates with drugs and mobile phones hidden inside boxes of CEREAL has been jailed. Martin Mills, 34, was caught red-handed trying to smuggle prohibited items into HMP Hewell concealed in packs of Weetabix and Ready Brek. A court heard he was stopped as he arrived for work at the category B jail near Redditch, Worcs., after his bosses became suspicious in April 2018. Detectives were able to link several other people to the smuggling ring, including prisoners housed on the block Mills worked on. Family members of the lags would pay money into Mills’ bank account and he would then take the prohibited items to work for the prisoners to sell on inside. Photos show how drugs, phones, SIM cards, tobacco, Rizlas, wads of cash and even a knife were recovered as part of the operation. Mills, of Bromsgrove, Worcs., pleaded guilty to smuggling list A items (drugs) and list B items (mobile phones and associated equipment). He was jailed for four years at Worcester Crown Court on Monday (13/11). Mills was sentenced alongside eight other people for conspiracy to bring, throw and convey prohibited items in to the prison.

Family members of the inmates would pay money into Mills’ bank account and he would then take the prohibited items to work for the prisoners to sell on inside.

Photos show how drugs, phones, SIM cards, tobacco, Rizlas, wads of cash and even a knife were recovered as part of the operation.

Mills pleaded guilty to smuggling list A items (drugs) and list B items (mobile phones and associated equipment).

He was jailed for four years at Worcester Crown Court on Monday November 13.

FILE PICTURE - HMP Hewell. Release date – November 16, 2023. See SWNS story SWMRprison. A prison officer who was the ringleader of a smuggling gang supplying inmates with drugs and mobile phones hidden inside boxes of CEREAL has been jailed. Martin Mills, 34, was caught red-handed trying to smuggle prohibited items into HMP Hewell concealed in packs of Weetabix and Ready Brek. A court heard he was stopped as he arrived for work at the category B jail near Redditch, Worcs., after his bosses became suspicious in April 2018. Detectives were able to link several other people to the smuggling ring, including prisoners housed on the block Mills worked on. Family members of the lags would pay money into Mills’ bank account and he would then take the prohibited items to work for the prisoners to sell on inside. Photos show how drugs, phones, SIM cards, tobacco, Rizlas, wads of cash and even a knife were recovered as part of the operation. Mills, of Bromsgrove, Worcs., pleaded guilty to smuggling list A items (drugs) and list B items (mobile phones and associated equipment). He was jailed for four years at Worcester Crown Court on Monday (13/11). Mills was sentenced alongside eight other people for conspiracy to bring, throw and convey prohibited items in to the prison.

Mills was sentenced alongside eight other people for conspiracy to bring, throw and convey prohibited items in to the prison.

Iain Maclachlan-Sim, 34, of Leamington, and Hamza Mohumed, 32, of Coventry, were both jailed for four years.

Tony Graham Barrett, 28, of Nuneaton,was jailed for three years and two months while David Ward, 53, of Coventry, was sentenced to 21 months.

Jy Kennedy, 30, of Leamington, received a seven month suspended sentence and was given a £250 fine.

Isiah Gill, 34, of Birmingham, was sentenced to ten months, suspended for 12 months and ordered to undertake 80 hours of unpaid work.

Leanne Miles, 32, of Coventry, was sentenced to 12 months, suspended for a year.

Ann Marie Sim, 52, of Leamington, received a six-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.

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Detective Constable Claire Masters, of West Mercia Police, said: “This has been a complicated and long-running investigation and I’m pleased that all those involved have now been brought to justice.

“Prisons should be a place of safety and the actions of Mills and his accomplices threatened that.

“Drugs have no place in prison and hinder the rehabilitation of those who are there, often when they are at their most vulnerable.

“I hope these sentences show that we take all reports of crime seriously, regardless of who commits them and where they took place.”

Cereal offenders: Leamington men and woman sentenced for involvement in prison smuggling ring