Man jailed over toilet prison drug smuggling

A pack of drugs wrapped in an evidence bagImage source, South East Regional Organised Crime Unit
Image caption,

The drugs were left in the male toilets at the Sussex Eye Hospital

  • Published

A man has been jailed after trying to smuggle drugs into prison via the male toilets at a Sussex hospital.

Michael Beirne, 41, of HMP Rochester, Kent, was sentenced to 15 months in prison at Lewes Crown Court on Friday.

An investigation by the South East Regional Prisons Intelligence Team found he had told Lucy D’Cruze, 47, of Bronte Drive, Eastbourne where to put the drugs.

She was also sentenced to 15 months, suspended for two years, and must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and attend rehabilitation sessions.

Both pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to convey a list A prohibited article into a prison on behalf of a prisoner.

The South East Regional Prisons Intelligence Team (SERPIT) investigation found that on 31 August and 1 September 2022, Beirne instructed D’Cruze to put cocaine and ketamine in the male toilets at the Sussex Eye Hospital.

A prisoner was supposed to collect them and smuggle them into prison, but a prison officer escorting them found the drugs when they searched the toilets.

Beirne and D’Cruze were charged in September last year.

A SERPIT spokesperson, said: “Anyone attempting to organise the supply of drugs into HMP establishments should be warned that they will be identified and prosecuted.”

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