Group charged over drone plot to drop drugs behind prison walls

HMP Oakwood and Featherstone near Wolverhampton and HMP Birmingham, known locally as Winson Green Prison, were among those targeted.

The eight men and two women − including those living in Dudley and Sandwell − have been charged with three counts of conspiracy to supply drugs, psychoactive substances and banned items.

It is claimed the group used drones to drop the contraband consignments over prison walls.

The ten charged are:

• Paul Payne, aged 33, of Broad Street, Coseley

• Callum McDonough, 25, from Shenley Field Road, Northfield

• Shane Hadlington, 29, from Sycamore Lodge, Oldbury

• Hannah Williams, 34, from Horton Street, Tipton

• Stella Deakin, 40, in Boundary Hill, Dudley

• Richard Harrabin, 27, from Perton Grove, Weoley Castle

• Jake Blewitt, 20, from Highfield Road, Tipton

• Dwayne Tinker, 20, of Lindridge Drive, Minworth

• Ryan Greaves, 21, from Kimberley Walk, Minworth

• 43-year-old Robert Morris from Sedgley Road West in Tipton

All 10 were arrested during morning raids yesterday as part of an investigation by the West Midlands Regional Prison Investigation Team based in Birmingham.

They are set to appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court today.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said: “The secretary of state and I have put the fight against criminal gangs at the heart of our work in the Ministry of Justice.

“These arrests are the latest example of the results that can be achieved by the police and HMPPS working together to stop the flow of drugs into our prisons.

“Decent, drug-free prisons are vital to the effective rehabilitation of offenders and protection of the public.”