A serving prison custody officer has been jailed for her part in a sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle drugs and tobacco into a Birmingham prison for her inmate boyfriend.
The Corrupt Officer and the Plot
Carla Moskot-Brettell, 35, a prison custody officer at HMP Hewell in Worcestershire, abused her position to orchestrate the smuggling operation into HMP Birmingham in Winson Green. She conspired with her partner, Darren Oakes, 47, who was a serving prisoner at the jail.
The pair enlisted the help of two other women from the Black Country, Louise Docker and Patricia Bucknell, 51. Together, they prepared packages containing cannabis and tobacco, wrapping them in cling film.
In a calculated move to evade detection, the contraband was then placed inside a surgical glove obtained by Moskot-Brettell from her workplace and laced with spices to confuse the scent of search dogs used at the prison.
The Smuggling Method and Discovery
Patricia Bucknell smuggled the packages into the prison during social visits with Darren Oakes. Once inside, the items were hidden inside food orders from the visits canteen.
Oakes then ingested the packages, later making himself vomit in his cell to retrieve them so he could supply the illicit goods to other inmates.
The elaborate plot was uncovered following a detailed investigation by the West Midlands Police Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), working alongside the HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit.
Sentencing and Condemnation
All four conspirators pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring prohibited articles into a prison. They were sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday, November 28.
The court handed down the following prison terms:
- Carla Moskot-Brettell of Stour Hill, Quarry Bank, Brierley Hill: three years and nine months.
- Darren Oakes: three years and nine months.
- Louise Docker of Birmingham Street, Halesowen: two years and three months.
- Patricia Bucknell of Clent View Road, Cradley: two years and three months.
Detective Constable Adam McHugh, from the West Midlands Regional Prison Intelligence Unit, stated: "Moskot-Brettell abused her position as a prison officer to participate in criminality that saw contraband smuggled into a prison, the very institution she worked for."
He added that her behaviour eroded public trust and that she and her co-conspirators now rightly faced time behind bars.
