Kelly had spray painted the drone black - potentially to avoid detection
A man who used a drone to fly contraband into prisons has become the first person in the UK to be jailed for the crime.
Daniel Kelly had flown a remote-controlled drone carrying tobacco and the psychoactive drug Spice into jails in Kent and Hertfordshire.
The car being used by the 27-year-old was spotted by a police patrol near HMP Swaleside in April - but it sped off.
It was later found in a holiday park in the village of Leysdown in Kent, where Kelly was arrested after the drone was discovered in the car boot.
Officers discovered the device had been spray-painted black and the lights had been taped over, likely to avoid detection.
Kelly is the first person to be jailed for projecting items into prison
The drone's storage drive revealed Kelly had made four flights into HMP Swaleside, HMP The Mount and HMP Elmley - as well as two unsuccessful attempts to get into HMP Wandsworth in southwest London.
At Maidstone Crown Court, Kelly was jailed for 14 months after he admitted conspiracy to project an article into prison - an offence which was only brought into law last November following a spate of drone smuggling.
Ingrid Kelly, 25, was also charged but the case against her has been dropped.
Detective Constable Mark Silk of Kent Police said: "Daniel Kelly's offending was serious. It shows a lack of respect for our justice system and it is appropriate that he has received a custodial sentence.
"Psychoactive substances and tobacco have an inflated value in prison and this can lead to offences being committed within.
"This places both inmates and prison staff at risk."
No comments:
Post a Comment