Woman jailed for smuggling drugs into prison
A mother caught trying to take a prohibited drug in to a young offenders institution near Wolverhampton has been jailed.
A drug sniffer dog alerted staff at Brinsford Prison when Lisa McHale, together with her young son, was visiting an inmate there, Stafford Crown Court heard.
McHale initially refused to be searched and claimed she only had legal items on her, Miss Lisa Hancox, prosecuting, said.
But an officer noticed a strip of cling film sticking out of her bra. It was handed over and found to contain a strip of Tramadol, a powerful pain killer available on prescription-only.
McHale, aged 39, of Holyoake Place, Rugeley admitted conveying a prohibited article in to prison and was jailed for six months.
Recorder Mr Stephen Thomas told her: "You took a deliberate decision to take Class C drugs in to Brinsford.
"There was no purpose hiding the Tramadol in your bra other than you knew it was unlawful.
"Tramadol is a powerful painkiller and its unregulated use within prison is a dangerous matter."
Miss Hancox said that when McHale was questioned she claimed she had no idea Tramadol was a controlled drug.
The court heard that McHale's criminal record showed 111 previous offences.
Mr Neil Gerrity, defending, said: "She is a lady who's had a long standing heroin addiction leading her in to acquisitive crime.
"She had got on top of her drug problem and is on a methadone script."
