Ex-Tipton man's attempt to hurl drugs over jail wall foiled
A man caught trying to hurl parcels containing drugs and mobile phones over the perimeter wall of Winson Green prison has been jailed for 18 months.
CCTV operators spotted Daniel Knight acting suspiciously and hiding in bushes near the site on October 12 last year. Prison-based police officer Dc Jim Farrell gave chase and, with assistance from West Midlands Police's dog unit, found the 30-year-old hiding under a car in Talbot Street.
Packages of drugs, phones and phone accessories were found by sniffer dogs in the undergrowth.
A later search of his home revealed 17 phone boxes and the IMEI numbers matched 10 handsets that had previously been seized by prison staff from inmates.
Forensic examinations on other packages found inside HMP Birmingham also DNA linked them to Knight.
Knight, formerly of Wednesbury Oak Road, Tipton, admitted four counts of conveying items into prison and two further counts of attempting to convey contraband goods.
He was jailed for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court on November 8.
Dc Farrell who received an award for chasing down and arresting Knight is part of a team based permanently in the Category B jail, which is located close to the Smethwick border, which is tasked with reducing "throw-over" and contraband smuggling offences.
It is the only such prison-based police unit in the country.
He said: "We're surrounded by criminals but criminality is no more acceptable here than it is out on the streets.
"There are rules here and any serious breaches will be investigated. Offenders can expect to be punished and that may well mean having their stay at her majesty's pleasure extended by several months or even years."
In 2011 there were 236 incidents of drugs, mobile phones or other contraband being thrown over the perimeter walls but so far this year there have been around 100 such offences.
