Drones are flying drugs and contraband into prisons in Scotland, jails watchdog warns, as one is intercepted with £75,000 of drugs, knives and mobile phones attached

• Jails watchdog says drones are being deployed to smuggle drugs into prison
• Rise in violence reported in Scottish prisons due to psychoactive substances 

Large quantities of drugs and other contraband are being smuggled into prisons using drones, the jails watchdog has warned.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said in her report on HMP Perth that drone technology had led to a ‘step change’ in the illicit drugs trade behind bars.

Incoming post for inmates is photocopied as a way of preventing drug-soaked letters from reaching prisoners.

But Ms Sinclair-Gieben said drones have provided an alternative method of getting drugs into jails.

The disclosure comes after it emerged that criminals in Scottish prisons are becoming ‘aggressive and violent’ amid a new wave of psychoactive drugs being smuggled into cells.

Footage inside a prison shows an inmate picking up an item smuggled into the courtyard using a drone

Another clip captures a drone flying beyond the prison walls, on its way to deliver illegal contraband to inmates

READ MORE: GANG ADMITS PLOT TO FLY DRUGS INTO LONDON PRISON USING DRONES THAT LED TO WOMAN’S DEATH 

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said SNP ministers should ‘admit the scale of the problem and give frontline prison staff the support they need’. He added: ‘The failure to get a grip will inevitably result in more violence, NHS ambulance call-outs and fatal overdoses.’

Ms Sinclair-Gieben said that bosses, staff and prisoners at HMP Perth reported to inspectors their concerns over drug use.

Fiona Cruickshanks, the new governor of HMP Edinburgh, said prisoners taking synthetic drugs and new forms of ‘street’ benzodiazepines were having extreme reactions due to increased potency.

Ms Cruickshanks said: ‘We had a recovery (of a drone) in Edinburgh earlier in the year.

‘The packages attached to that one drone that crashed contained ceramic knives, a significant quantity of drugs, mobile phones, and the prison value of the contents is £75,000.’

A Scottish Prison Service (SPS) spokesman said: ‘We welcome this report, which praises the “strong management” and “committed” SPS and NHS staff working at HMP Perth.’

In July, Mail Online reported that prisoners in the UK were using drones to smuggle phones into their jail cells. 

Shameless selfies and videos, filmed in jails nationwide, are being uploaded to social media as caged criminals seek to chase social media notoriety from behind bars. 

Shocking footage, seen by MailOnline and now being investigated by the Ministry of Justice, shows how inmates savagely deal out gruesome jail ‘justice’, with prisoners violently attacking alleged sex offenders and ‘snitches’.

In one clip, a man is viciously yanked from his bed before being brutalised by a fellow inmate, who punches and kicks him in the head while other lags egg him on. 

Other videos show prisoners being ambushed as they enter a cell or communal toilets, away from the prying eyes of jail guards.

The violence and disorder in British prisons us being filmed by inmates, with phones illegally smuggled into jail, before then being uploaded on social media

One inmate is dragged out of his bed by another prisoner before being violently attacked (left). The man is left cowering on the floor as his attacker kicks and punches him in the head (right)

In another video, a prisoner is shown with blood pouring out of his face after being viciously attacked by a gang of other inmates, who repeatedly punched him in the face 

READ MORE: Inside Britain’s sex scandal jail: Former prison officer and inmate lift the lid on £250M HMP Berwyn where 18 female guards have been fired or left for illicit affairs with convicts in just six years

While another sickening recording shows the moment a prisoner begs for his life as a gang of thugs ruthlessly beat him on his bed. 

‘I ain’t done nothing,’ the terrified man pleads as he is battered by a barrage of punches from fellow inmates, who then callously order him to ‘shut up, shut up’ and ‘stop shouting’ before launching a television at his head as he squeals in pain.

So vicious and graphic were some of the attacks, that MailOnline could not share them, with one video appearing to show a man having part of his ears hacked off, while in another, a person is held to the floor and repeatedly stabbed in the stomach. 

All the clips were shared on social networking app Telegram, on the account HMP TV Explicit. Some videos are also being added to the group’s Instagram page, which had previously been deleted by the social network.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed to MailOnline an investigation was launched into the footage. 

A spokesman said all incidences of social media misuse are investigated thoroughly by the Digital Media Investigation Unit, which works with social media companies such as TikTok to get content removed. A total on 97 X-ray body scanners are also used to detect smuggled phones, contraband and weapons. 

A Prison Service spokesman added: ‘Phones are not tolerated in prisons and those who break the rules face tough punishment – including extra time behind bars.

‘Our £100million investment in airport-style security – including X-ray body scanners – has helped stop over 28,000 attempts to smuggle drugs, phones, and weapons into prisons since last October, curbing the contraband that fuels jail violence.’

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