Two men have been jailed after being caught throwing prohibited items into the exercise yard of HMP Forest Bank in Salford
James Rourke aged 34 of Ventnor Street, Salford and Mitchell Murdern aged 20 of Carina Place, Salford were today sentenced to four years and eight months and two years imprisonment respectively after pleading guilty to conspiracy to convey list A, B and C items in to HMP Forest Bank.
The pair were caught after officers identified them as being two of the individuals on CCTV throwing objects in to the exercise yards between September and November 2021.
Police searched at their homes and associated properties, class A, B and C drugs were seized alongside a drone, tobacco and mini mobile phones.
The investigating officer PC 17693 said: “The conveyance of illegal items into our prisons is a growing and evolving threat. Drugs empower Organised Crime Groups on both sides of the prison walls fuelling violence, exploitation and bullying especially due to the vast, inflated profits to be made.
“The close collaboration between HMPPS, GMP and HMP Forest Bank, under Operation Dragonfire, has led to the dismantling of this local OCG responsible for conveying a huge amount of illegal items into the prison. The number of throw overs at the prison has now fallen and it is a safer community at Forest Bank for officers, staff and prisoners.”
