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A 56-year-old woman has been jailed for three years and nine months for taking payments for spice her son was selling from inside HMP Cardiff.
Amanda Cotter was found guilty after a trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court. Her son, Cameron Williams, 27, and two others involved in the scheme had already admitted their roles.
The cell search
Prison officers searched Williams’ cell and found 744g of spice. South Wales Police seized the drugs.
Williams was already behind bars at the time, serving a sentence for conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin.
Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for south Wales, then led an investigation. Detectives found that two HMP Cardiff inmates were plotting to supply drugs inside the prison estate.
Following the money
Relatives and partners of other prisoners sent money for drugs to Cotter’s bank account on her son’s behalf. She then moved funds between her own accounts to try to hide where the cash had come from.
Robyn Ward, 25, Williams’ partner, also let her bank accounts be used to handle payments.
A second prisoner, Ahmed Moshen, 28, had family members send him money so he could buy drugs from Williams. He intended to supply them to others inside the jail.
Sentencing
Williams, Ward and Moshen pleaded guilty to conspiracy with intent to supply class B drugs. Cotter was convicted of the same charge after trial.
Cameron Williams was given two years and three months, to run consecutively to the sentence he is already serving.
Amanda Cotter was jailed for three years and nine months.
Ahmed Moshen received seven years, also to run consecutively to his existing sentence.
Robyn Ward was spared jail. She was given two years and 10 months, suspended for two years.
What police said
After the hearing, Detective Inspector Jason Meadows, of Tarian, said: “This was a complex investigation involving multiple individuals both within and outside the prison estate. I would like to thank HMPPS and, in particular, the staff at HMP Cardiff, for their support throughout this investigation.
“This partnership working enabled us to remove illicit drugs from the prison estate, thereby safeguarding vulnerable prisoners. We were able to identify the co-conspirators and bring all defendants before the courts.
“We will continue to work with HMPPS to proactively identify and pursue those involved in the possession and supply of illicit drugs within the prison estate, as well as those who enable them.”
