Two childhood friends of 40 years turned on one another as a prison drug smuggling ring unravelled.
Zak Mortimer and Nathan Slemen were part of a gang who plotted to fly up to £650,000 of drugs, tobacco and mobile phones into HMP Liverpool using drones. Pilots even used specialist technology in order to hack into the miniature aircraft and enable the gadgets to enter into the no-fly zone over the jail.
But when the police began to close in on the conspiracy and raided Mortimer's mum's house, he subjected Slemen to a brutal street attack and left him with a permanent disability. Both men were locked up at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday afternoon, Monday.
READ MORE: Woman who had 'drinks poured on head' accused of 'tipping off' Elle Edwards suspect
The court heard previously heard that Mortimer and Slemen had been childhood friends, to the extent that Slemen had moved into Mortimer's mother's house after he became homeless and acted as her "de facto carer". Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, described how the former had used a total of 13 mobile phones and was linked to a further 14 inside Walton prison.
On January 17 last year, police officers spotted the defendants acting suspiciously while riding electric bikes near to a petrol station. PCs unsuccessfully attempted to detain 42-year-old Mortimer, but he dropped a phone which was later found to be linked to the flightpath of a drone over the category B establishment.
This had involved the delivery of a package of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis stashed inside a sock. Texts found on his device had been sent from within the jail, with one reading: "You be ready tonight?"
Mortimer, of no fixed address, had responded to this with a smiley face emoji. Another message on his phone said "ready in an hour" and added that he would call when he left home.
CCTV footage of one incident was played to the court, and showed a drone delivering a package. The video showed an arm appearing and taking hold of the parcel before bringing it inside.
A prison officer was able to retrieve this illegal delivery however, and found it to contain items including cannabis, cannabis resin, tobacco, mobile phones and chargers. Dozens of similar flights would be embarked upon over the space of a year during 2022.
Merseyside Police then executed a search warrant at Mortimer's mother's home, seizing drugs and drone parts. Only days later on May 1, things between the two friends boiled over when Mortimer viciously attacked 45-year-old Slemen.
The dad-of-seven had been travelling in a taxi to Southport with his partner and children when he spotted his associate on foot. CCTV footage played to the court showed him exiting the vehicle on Bath Street and chasing after his co-conspirator and kicking out at him - causing him to fall to the floor.
The clip showed him continue to rain down a flurry of punches and kicks upon the stricken man as he lay on the ground. A mum and daughter, both of whom were off-duty nurses, had to step in to stop the assault - which left Slemen, of Duke Street in Liverpool city centre, suffering from a limp and with permanent mobility issues, which mean he is now registered as disabled.
Mr Pickavance said that "things went quiet until September", before Mortimer "reappeared" and was linked to further drone deliveries into prison. On September 20, police saw two men "putting something into a bag" and found a drone - among other items including a controller - which had been flown in the Bolton area.
When his phone was checked, it was found to have also been present in this location. Mortimer was found hiding in the loft when an address in Wigan which was linked to him was searched, with a drone being found attached to a computer with a "drone hacks" programme running.
This software was said to have been used to "override the GPS limitations" which would usually prevent a drone from entering areas such as prisons. During a further search of this property on October 14, the drone had gone.
However, the laptop was linked to a Facebook login belonging to Mortimer. A total of 45 attempts to fly drones into HMP Liverpool were recorded during the lifetime of the plot.
Of these, 16 were successful and 19 were thwarted by guards - while it is not known whether the remaining 10 saw illicit goods enter the prison system. Mr Pickavance said Mortimer - who has 39 previous convictions for 79 offences - had "played a crucial role to these conspiracies", while Slemen was "clearly Mortimer's assistant".
Stephen McNally, defending Mortimer, told the court that his client became involved in the scheme due to his "particular skill" for hacking and flying drones. He also stated that his client had suffered from drug issues, while the assault had been an "unpleasant incident which he regrets" and "exercises remorse" for - adding: "He expresses regret for the loss of friendship of around 40 years."
Michael Hagerty, appearing for Slemen, described how he had a "significant drug problem in the past". He had formerly worked for Home Bargains, but suffered a physical and mental breakdown due to working long hours - "often seven days a week" - during the covid pandemic.
Mr Hagerty said: "He was in a tenancy and could not pay the rent and became homeless. As a result, he stayed at friends and sofa surfed and then lived with Zak Mortimer's mum - Mr Slemen was a lifelong friend of Mr Mortimer."
The mum of his "lifelong friend" had been suffering from health issues at the time and Slemen, whose criminal record shows 16 convictions for 30 offences, had agreed to live with her and act as a "de facto carer" to her. But it was during this time that he "slipped into" his substance abuse problems again.
Mortimer admitted four counts of conspiracy to convey a prohibited article into a prison and inflicting grievous bodily harm. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for seven years and three months.
Slemen pleaded guilty to the four charges of conspiracy to convey a prohibited article into a prison. He smiled in the dock as he received five years and one month in prison.
Judge Louise Brandon said that the 16 successful deliveries had resulted in an estimated £231,000 of contraband entering Walton prison. It was calculated that this figure would have risen to £650,000 if all 45 had been completed.
She added that both men had played "crucial roles", saying in her sentencing remarks: "These prohibited items were high value items and instruments of power and extortion. They have an inevitable corrosive and corruptive effect and feed the addictions of those in prison who want to make use of their time.
"The evil done by drugs in prison is even worse than they do in general society. This was a sophisticated operation."
A third man - David Murphy, who was a serving prisoner in HMP Liverpool at the time - has also admitted conspiracy to convey a prohibited article into a prison in relation to his involvement. The 37-year-old, of no fixed address, will be sentenced at a later date.
