HMP Ranby: Pair sentenced over prison drug-soaked letters plot

Two people have been sentenced over a plot to send drug-soaked letters to inmates at a prison.

Nottinghamshire Police said they were alerted last April when a solicitors firm reported an unknown party had ordered paper with its letterhead.

Inquiries led them to Shane Smith, who was a prisoner at HMP Ranby, and his then partner Carla Fitzgerald.

Prison staff intercepted mail addressed to Smith, which tested positive for the psychoactive drug Spice.

He was jailed for four years, and Fitzgerald was given a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

Police said the Leicestershire-based solicitors only became aware of the order after the printing company approached them for payment.

Officers found Fitzgerald, 27, of Basford Road, Nottingham, had asked for the letters to be printed.

On intercepting a letter sent to Smith, 36, previously of King Street, Coalville, Leicestershire, it was found to test positive for Spice.

Other items of mail, addressed to other prisoners and sent in the same manner, were also recovered, police added.

Smith pleaded guilty to causing someone to bring a prohibited list A article into prison, while Fitzgerald admitted bringing a prohibited list A article into prison.

Letters laced with drugs have been seen in other prisons, where they are often smoked or ingested directly.

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