Prison Officer Jailed for Smuggling £15k Worth of Drugs into HMP Swaleside
A prison officer at HMP Swaleside has been locked up for nearly three years after being caught smuggling drugs to an inmate. Martin Fazakarley, 44, from Sheerness, was sentenced to two years and eight months at Woolwich Crown Court on May 10, 2019.
He wasn’t alone. Madeline Cherry, 28, of Gravesend, was also jailed for 15 months. Both admitted conspiring to sneak prohibited items into the prison.
How the Drug Deal Unravelled
On April 24, 2018, prison staff carried out a routine search at HMP Swaleside. Fazakarley, who was on duty, confessed to carrying prohibited items after spotting the crackdown. He handed over two specially modified crisp tubes and a drinks bottle loaded with cannabis, crack cocaine, and tobacco. Fazakarley claimed he thought the package only contained cannabis.
Later that day, officers raided inmate Kevin Hutchinson-Foster’s cell. They uncovered a mobile phone and drinks cans rigged to smuggle more contraband. The 36-year-old inmate has pleaded guilty but is awaiting sentencing.
Evidence Points to Female Accomplice
Police investigations linked Cherry as an associate of Hutchinson-Foster. A search of her home yielded her phone, and on it, a video showed her handing over a package to Fazakarley inside the prison.
‘Betrayal for Personal Gain’
“This was a calculated plot to convey a large quantity of drugs into prison,” said Detective Constable Simon Mather.
“Fazakarley breached the trust placed in him by his employers for his own financial gain.”
The street value of the seized drugs is estimated at around £15,000. Fazakarley’s sentence sends a strong message that such betrayals won’t be tolerated behind bars.
