Former Coldingley officer ‘fell in love with prisoner and smuggled drugs’

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court in London are hearing the case against a former prison officer from HMP Coldingley who has been accused of having sex with an inmate at the jail, and of colluding with him in smuggling drugs into the prison. 

The jury listened to tapes of the two talking down a recorded phone line. They heard the 23-year-old woman say how impressed she was by him when he rapped to her on the phone. 

The court was also told that she had been persuaded to help him smuggle in envelopes containing the drug Spice into prison, and that she allegedly operated his Snapchat drug account to keep his drug business in operation whilst he was inside. 

The pair were said to have entered the prison’s multi-faith room, in which there were no cameras, apparently for sex, and two other men were seen on the jail’s CCTV standing in the corridor outside to act as lookouts.

In one handwritten letter she had sent him, she said she would be “prepared to take a bullet for him” as she loved him so much, adding: “I literally worship the ground you walk on.”

She added: “Wearing your promise ring, having you tattooed on me for life, I feel more proud than ever being your girl.”

The woman officer at one time submitted a formal complaint to the prison as she said she was being bullied by other officers at the time for her appearance and age. This followed her being prevented from dealing with a parcel sent to her lover, but no one investigated her complaint as it was decided there would be no point as it lacked any evidence or credibility.

Another woman was charged alongside her with smuggling narcotics in to the prison. The ex-officer had made contact with this person via the prisoner’s Snapchat account. The second woman pleaded not guilty. The man, however, had previously pleaded guilty to all charges.

The case into the two women continues.