Criminals in the United Kingdom are now taking their game a notch higher after reports emerged that they have been using dead rats to sneak contraband materials into their prisons!
Investigations on most of the country’s correctional facilities indicated that criminals pass contraband such as phones and drugs to inmates by stuffing it in dead rats and lobbing them over jail walls.
Officers in one of the prisons, found three rodents lying just inside a perimeter fence and noticed they were stitched along their stomachs.
They opened them up only to find five mobiles and chargers, three SIM cards, cigarette papers and drugs including Spice and cannabis.
The Ministry of Justice said intelligence suggests the rats were thrown in by organised criminals co-ordinating with an offender on the inside.
Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said: “This shows the extraordinary lengths to which criminals will go to smuggle drugs into prison and why our work to improve security is so important.
While tennis balls and pigeons have been used to get contraband into jails, the MoJ said the findings at HMP Guys Marsh, Dorset, this month was the first recorded case using rats.
Drugs, particularly Spice, are a key factor in surging levels of violence and disorder in our prisons. Jails are also trying to stem the flow of illegal phones amid fears they are used to facilitate more crime and intimidate victims from behind bars.
In the 12 months to March 2018, there were 13,119 incidents where drugs were found in prisons in England and Wales — a rise of 23% on the previous year.
Officials say inmates are adopting increasingly inventive tactics to keep contraband hidden, including stashing it in hollowed-out furniture or in electrical items.
