Rogue prison officer part of four strong gang who smuggled drugs into Doncaster jail

A rogue prison officer was part of a four strong gang caught smuggling drugs into a Doncaster jail.
Prison officer Rio Moran (bottom left) was part of a gang caught smuggling drugs into Doncaster prison. Also found guilty were, from top left, James Millington, Claire Anderson and Callum Reilly.Prison officer Rio Moran (bottom left) was part of a gang caught smuggling drugs into Doncaster prison. Also found guilty were, from top left, James Millington, Claire Anderson and Callum Reilly.
Prison officer Rio Moran (bottom left) was part of a gang caught smuggling drugs into Doncaster prison. Also found guilty were, from top left, James Millington, Claire Anderson and Callum Reilly.

Prison officer Rio Moran pleaded guilty along with three others at Sheffield Crown Court over a plot which involved supplying drugs into HMP Doncaster.

The group were all charged with conspiring to supply drugs and illicit articles into a number of prisons, including HMP Doncaster as well as associated money laundering.

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Moran, 30, of Godfrey Place, Halifax pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply Class B drugs into prison, conspiring to convey List B articles into prison and money laundering.

James Millington, 31, of HMP Leeds, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class B and C drugs into prison between 2017 and 2020, conspiring to supply Class B drugs into prison and conspiring to convey List B articles into prison.

Claire Anderson, 32, of Hazelwood Road, Stockport, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class B and C drugs into prison between 2017 and 2020, conspiring to supply Class B drugs into prison and conspiring to convey List B articles into prison.

Callum Reilly, 30, of no fixed abode from the Stockport area, pleaded guilty to supplying a Class B drug to Anderson, conspiring to convey List B articles into prison and money laundering.

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The court heard that officers from South Yorkshire Police’s Prison Anti-Corruption Unit arrested Moran as she arrived for work in November 2020. A substantial amount of drugs and phones were found at her home address.

While officers were searching her home, Reilly attended and attempted to post further contraband through the front door address, and was arrested. This contraband was bound for HMP Doncaster.

HMP Doncaster inmate James Millington was identified as being the recipient of the items, and was also arrested. His partner Claire Anderson was found to have assisted the conspiracy and was subsequently detained at her home in Stockport with drugs and phones at her property suspected to be bound for prison.

All four will appear before Sheffield Crown Court on 5 November to be sentenced.

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Detective Scott Jarvis from SYP’s Prison Anti-Corruption Unit said: “Our prisons are staffed predominantly with hard working officers who go about their business professionally despite the risks to themselves and colleagues on a daily basis.

“For the majority of staff, their number one aim is the safeguarding of inmates and colleagues, and to support the rehabilitation of those inmates. Any officers that fall outside of that and commit crime will be dealt with robustly along with any members of the public assisting that criminality”.

Detective Sergeant Gareth Gent who led the investigation added: “This is an example of the hard work and processes developed in conjunction with our prisons to allow us to quickly identify corruption and effectively deal with those responsible. South Yorkshire Police are committed to supporting our prison establishments”.

John Hewitson, Serco Prison Director at HMP Doncaster, said: “We expect the highest standards of behaviour from everyone who works in the prison and the vast majority of our people meet those standards, but this individual fell well short of what is expected.

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“Serco has a zero tolerance approach to people breaking the law and we worked closely with the Police on this operation to arrest them. There is no scenario where we will ever accept people bringing contraband into a secure prison establishment and we will continue to work with local police authorities to eradicate this type of risk.”