Woman jailed after smuggling drugs into prison

A woman who attempted to smuggle cannabis into a Surrey prison is behind bars after pleading guilty at Guildford Crown Court earlier this month. Whitney Thornton, 22, of Forest Road West, Nottingham, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conveying drugs into HMP Coldingley Prison in Bisley. She was jailed for a further 10 months after being found to have breached previous court orders. Thornton was visiting the prison on 27 April 2018 and had decided to hide a bag of drugs inside her bra. The drugs were discovered by a member of prison staff during a routine search. The bag contained 48.6g of cannabis, which would have been worth several thousand pounds had it been sold inside the prison. Officers attended the prison and arrested Thornton and she was subsequently charged. She was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on 5 July. Inspector Bob Darkens, Borough Commander for Surrey Heath, said: “HMP Coldingley is a category C prison which focuses on the resettlement of prisoners and keeping them drug free is an essential part of their rehabilitation. “Some reports have claimed that over half of the people entering prison have a drugs problem and many hope to use their time inside to beat their addictions. “I hope that the sentence given to Thornton sends a clear message that trying to make money out of smuggling drugs into our prisons will not be tolerated and that anyone caught doing so will be dealt with robustly.” Niall Bryant, Deputy Governor at HMP Coldingley, added: “Drugs will not be tolerated and we are boosting security to stop them getting in. I’d like to thank my hardworking staff for their role in preventing this crime, helping to keep the prison safe.”