Man jailed for throwing bags of drugs over prison wall from neighbouring garden

A 21-year-old man has been jailed for supplying prison inmates with psychoactive substances — by throwing bags of drugs over jail walls from neighbouring gardens.

Louis Denham admitted two counts of supplying drugs in so-called “throw-overs” at HMP Nottingham, after 10 cigar-shaped packets containing drugs were found close to the perimeter fence.

Denham, of Woodfield Road, Nottingham, was spotted nearby by a police officer who chased and arrested him.

Staff at the category B jail, which holds about 1,000 inmates, found packages in the prison grounds covered with Denham’s fingerprints.

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When Nottinghamshire Police searched his home they found 10 micro-sized mobile phones small enough to fit inside the drugs packets.

Denham pleaded guilty to the offences at Nottingham Crown Court and was jailed for 16 months on Thursday.

Denham was prosecuted under new laws introduced in the Serious Crime Act in 2015.

Detective Inspector Ed Cook, of Nottinghamshire Police, said psychoactive substances could be “linked to an increase in violence” in jails and placed extra demand on prison staff.

Mr Cook added: “We have a duty to ensure our communities are safe, including the prison community and that means bringing people like Denham, who was using access to local residents’ gardens to supply the prison, to justice.”

Tom Wheatley, HMP Nottingham governor, said: “Psychoactive substances cause misery in prison and those who supply them are breaking the law and obstructing us from delivering a safe, secure and decent environment.

“We work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that this activity is likely to result in imprisonment for the perpetrators.”