Criminals who were part of a group that sent drug-soaked letters and plotted to smuggle drugs into a prison have been sentenced. Ashley Haywood and Gemma Beeby were involved in conspiring to supply drugs into HMP Ranby by plotting to throw them into the prison grounds.
A police investigation discovered the pair were part of a larger group involved in sending drug-soaked letters to the prison. On April 16, 2020, officers received a report from a solicitors firm in Leicestershire that someone had attempted to fraudulently print some paper off in their name using their company logo.
They had only found out about this when the printing company could not get hold of the original buyer for payment and contacted the solicitors firm directly, who had no knowledge of the purchase. Enquiries revealed it was 29-year-old Carla Fitzgerald who asked for the letters to be printed.
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HMP Ranby staff intercepted mail addressed to 36-year-old Shane Smith, who was then Fitzgerald’s partner, which tested positive for spice-synthetic cannabis. Other items of mail, addressed to other prisoners and sent in the same way, were also recovered by the prison.
The investigation led to both being charged and they were sentenced on July 23, 2021. Smith, formerly of King Street, Coalville, Leicestershire, was handed a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to causing someone to bring a prohibited list A article into prison.
Fitzgerald, of Basford Road, Basford, was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to bringing a prohibited list A article into prison. But this police investigation discovered Smith had been in communication with his brother, Ashley Haywood, and his ex-girlfriend, Gemma Beeby, between April and June 2020.
Both were identified as co-conspirators to supply drugs into the prison. Warrants were executed at Haywood’s and Beeby’s homes, on August 11, 2020, after which they were both arrested and charged.
The pair appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on August 12, having pleaded guilty to conspiring to convey a prohibited article into prison. Haywood also pleaded guilty to being in possession of a Class B drug after a quantity of cannabis was recovered from his home address during a search.
Haywood, of Cranwell Road, Strelley, and Beeby, of Eastwood, each received 18-month prison sentences, suspended for two years. In addition, Haywood was also ordered to observe a curfew between 8pm and 6am for a period of six months.
Detective Constable Gemma Patterson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Evidence showed Smith and Haywood conspired with Smith’s ex-partner Beeby to throw a package containing drugs over the fence and into the prison grounds.
“While we don’t believe the throw actually went ahead, thanks to some great work on the investigation involving multiple police departments, we were still able to secure charges.
“As a force we continue to work hard to prevent and disrupt the supply of illegal drugs in our communities.
"I hope our success in this particular case and failure of this plot acts as a strong deterrent to others and prevents similar incidents from happening in the future.”
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