MoJ won't answer questions over prison smuggling revelations

The government refused to answer our questions or give any details of what it did in response to our reporting.

In February, our investigation exposed a gang calling itself Trick A Screw, hiding internet hotspots in beard trimmers, alarm clocks and fans, then sending them to prisoners.

The gadgets were hooked up to prisoners’ televisions, enabling them to download and use communication services like WhatsApp and Instagram.

The smuggling gang was selling manipulated alarm clocks, beard trimmers and fans with internet hotspots hidden inside them (Image: Instagram)

Our reporter infiltrated the gang’s secret online group, finding evidence that the operation had been running for years.

The crooks even posted videos of the devices in use inside prisoners’ cells.

“You could have criminals organising gangland hits, assassinations, kidnappings from inside prison cells,” warned retired Met Police organised crime detective Dave McKelvey.

“It’s like a real-life Italian Job, where the crime boss Mr Bridger authorises the heist from inside the prison.”

Our exclusive revelations were republished by the Daily Mirror. The MOJ vowed to investigate and Labour’s shadow prisons minister called for “urgent” action and answers.

Conservative ministers ignored our repeated requests for comment.

One of the smugglers shared a photo of the large amount of parcels they were about to post on a particular day. The operation had been running on Instagram for years (Image: Instagram)

Read more:

• Exposed: The smugglers brazenly using Instagram to flood jails with devices and drugs
• Tories 'have lost control of prisons' as brazen smugglers flood jails

Four months later, in June, the prison system was rocked by another security scandal when a prison guard allegedly filmed a sex tape with a Wandsworth prisoner on a smuggled mobile phone.

Newsquest asked the MoJ what specific actions had been taken since February to tighten up security or find and remove smuggled devices.

It repeatedly refused to cite a single thing that was done.

It would only say that it “took immediate action on the account in question” – referring to the Instagram account through which Trick A Screw communicated with customers.

That account was shut down by Instagram after our reporting.

The smuggling gang was also selling the lethal drug Spice, smuggled into prisons by disguising it as privileged legal correspondence (Image: Instagram)

The MoJ would not say whether it had ever begun searching prisons for Trick A Screw’s tampered devices, or launched any investigation into how they got past prison security.

It would only say: “Prisons deploy a range of measures including X-ray scanners, regular searches of prisoners’ cells and intelligence-based searches to detect illicit items – and those found with them can face extra time [behind] bars.”

Newsquest also revealed how Trick A Screw was smuggling the lethal drug spice into prisons by disguising it as privileged legal correspondence. 

Newsquest has today (July 11) asked new Labour justice minister Shabana Mahmood's office whether she will investigate the MOJ's response to the Trick A Screw revelations. 

We will publish her response when we receive it.