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Brothers caught in Featherstone Prison Ribena drug racket

A serving prisoner who plotted to smuggle drugs inside Ribena cartons into a Staffordshire jail with the help of his brother is back behind bars.

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Convicted money launderer Nahim Ali was just days away from being freed from Featherstone Prison when he got his sibling Tahir Ali to deliver hundreds of tablets of illicit drugs to the prison.

But their plan was foiled when jail staff discovered the cartons containing hundreds of tablets outside the prison gates.

More of the drugs found inside the cartons

At Stafford Crown Court on Friday, Nahim was given a eight-month prison sentence, while Tahir escaped with a four month sentence suspended for 12 months.

Judge Mark Eades told the pair: "The circulation of drugs in prison is a serious public mischief.

"They can lead to discipline problems, including disorder. Anyone who is involved in the transmission of drugs into prison can expect a prison sentence.

"Nahim, you were the mainspring behind these offences. Tahir, you lent yourself to the enterprise, you knew what you were doing, you did it with your eyes wide open."

The court heard the plot was rumbled from a phone call made by Nahim to his brother whilst he was still in custody serving a two-year sentence for money laundering.

In a bid to catch those responsible, police and prison workers replaced the drugs-filled drinks cartons with dummy packages and left them as a trap outside the prison.

Nahim made another phone call to his brother, telling him something had gone wrong, the court heard.

The cartons were picked up by the driver of a BMW which returned to the jail a week later to collect Nahim on his release. The BMW was being driven by Tahir and the brothers were arrested on February 27.

The haul of drugs included 399 tablets of oxymetholone and 310 tablets of oxandrolone, both powerful anabolic steroids, 49 tablets of buprenorphine, which is a strong pain killer sometimes used as a heroin substitute, 30ml of testosterone and 30ml of nandrolone.

Mr Martin Liddiard, defending Nahim, said: "This man was at the end of his sentence. He had ten days before his release.

"He was cajoled into trying to get other steroid-based drugs into prison. His greatest regret is conjoining his brother into it."

Mr Michael Bennett, defending Tahir, said his client, a father-of-six, was contacted by his brother and felt obliged to help. "His role was that of a delivery man,"

Tahir, aged 40, of Clodeshall Road, Alum Rock, Birmingham and Nahim, aged 34, of College Road, Alum Rock both admitted a charge of conspiracy to supply class C drugs.

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