Coronavirus prisoner Mark Rumble admits drugs charges

Oxford Crown Court heard Mark Rumble was "leading the high life" in Thailand before his arrest

A prisoner at the centre of a coronavirus scare following his extradition from Thailand has admitted drugs charges.

Mark Rumble was one of two inmates at HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire held in isolation earlier this month. The pair later tested negative for the illness.

Rumble, 31, was extradited to the UK in January and tested for Covid-19.

Judge Peter Ross said the defendant had been living "the high life" in Thailand before his arrest.

Oxford Crown Court heard Rumble had been the second in command of a 15-strong crime gang and "the immediate first lieutenant" to gang leader Neil Wadley, who was jailed in 2016 for 17 years.

The group, which operated in Oxford and Reading, had sourced cocaine from an Albanian organised crime gang and conspired to supply up to 7kg (15lbs) of that drug and 50kg (110lbs) of cannabis, prosecutor Michael Roques said.

Rumble went to Thailand just days before police arrested other members of the gang in 2015.

Judge Ross said pictures published in the media had shown Rumble to be "rather leading the high life whilst away from the jurisdiction".

He said: "This is a man who, knowing he was sought by authorities, not only absented himself from the jurisdiction, but ensured he remained out of it for a very long time."

Christopher Blake, defending, told the court he had only been able to see his client on Wednesday because the prisoner had been "at the heart of a coronavirus scare".

Rumble, formally of Didcot, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines, and possession of methoxetamine with intent to supply.

He will be sentenced at a later date.