Gang That Used Drones For Prison Drops Jailed

Frankie McCamleyHendon Magistrates' Court


Harry LowLondon


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


An estimated 75% of drone drops throughout London's prisons were due to the seven males who targeted jails including 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 stated: "This extremely organised gang thought they were outmaneuvering the cops and jail authorities. What they didn't understand is they underwent continual professional surveillance by Met officers."


All seven men admitted their functions in a "major, organised, and prolific enterprise" to provide Class B and C drugs, and conveying list A and B articles 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 automobile to the jails, frequently in the early hours of the early morning, and fly packages filled with contraband through cell windows.


CCTV video footage reveals a few of the gang connecting fishing wire to a drone which was connected to a bundle and melted using a lighter to protect it. This was then flown to the prisoners in their cells.


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


At the centre of the conspiracy was Mohseni, an Afghan nationwide who was approved leave to stay as a child in the UK in 2003.


He was sentenced to five years and 3 months and will serve at least 40% of that.


He was described in court as having the leading function behind nearly every drop, organising flights, operating the drones, co-ordinating drivers and lookouts, managing payments totalling more than ₤ 30,000, and communicating directly with prisoners using illicit cellphones inside the jails.


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


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


It contained marijuana, capsules of Pregabalin referred to as "brand-new Valium", and tablets of Alprazolam typically sold under the brand Xanax.


Another package was intercepted inside Wandsworth Prison, after police notified personnel of a drone flight to a specific cell. The package included marijuana, cigarettes and five iPhones.


Financial examinations revealed money being moved from associates of serving prisoners to fund the operation.


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