HMP Liverpool prison officer admits plot to smuggle drugs into jail

Phillips Meadows had worked at Liverpool prison since October 2017

A prison officer caught trying to smuggle drugs worth £96,000 into his own prison has been jailed.

Sniffer dogs detected traces of heroin and cannabis on 31-year-old Phillip Meadows as he arrived at HMP Liverpool.

In his car, anti-corruption officers found a stash of drugs he planned to sell to inmates at inflated prices, Liverpool Crown Court was told.

He admitted two counts of possessing drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for five years and four months.

The former prison officer, of St Leonard's Close, Netherton, Liverpool, was £7,000 in debt and a prisoner persuaded him to smuggle in the drugs, the court was told.

Jailing him, Judge Andrew Menary said Meadows had hatched the plan "plainly to raise money" due to debt but this was "no excuse".

HMP Liverpool which was criticised for its squalid conditions in a report last year

The court heard that Meadows had turned up for work with the drugs "assuming that the coast was clear".

Ten times the street value

A search by sniffer dogs detected traces of drugs on his clothing and holdall but nothing was found in his possession.

A search of his car, however, revealed a plastic bag in open view on the passenger seat containing 26 blocks of cannabis, 13 grams of heroin and 10 packets of illicit tobacco.

The haul had a street value of just £9,700 but was worth up to 10 times more inside, said prosecutors.

Defending, Mark Phillips said Meadows had amassed a £7,000 debt and his income was less than his outgoings.

"He is ashamed of himself and worried about what the future holds for his family."

Keith Drummond, of Mersey Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said Meadows "should be ashamed of himself".

"Society has the right to expect more from its officials."