Lydia Pinnington, a woman from Kirkby who avoided prison in a previous smuggling case, has been jailed for five years and six months for her role in a new conspiracy to smuggle drugs into prisons using items such as hot dog tins.
Pinnington and her partner Kieran Murphy were convicted in 2023 for their part in a drugs and weapons smuggling plot worth upwards of £1m targeting HMP Lindholme in Doncaster. Murphy was jailed, but Pinnington received a suspended sentence. However, instead of staying out of trouble, the pair began planning a new criminal venture using an illicit phone.
New Plot with Hot Dog Tins
Murphy conspired with Pinnington to smuggle items into prison, bringing in Murphy's associate Brandon Horne, who was also in prison, and Horne's mother Michelle Midgley. Over several months, the group used any item they could to smuggle drugs into multiple prisons before Pinnington was arrested while visiting Murphy.
Officers held Pinnington as she went to visit Murphy at HMP Garth in Lancashire on April 21, 2024. A few months later, Midgley was arrested at her home in West Yorkshire. Bank transactions highlighted hundreds and thousands of pounds worth of transactions through Midgley's account.
Sophisticated Operation
Investigators described the plot as a "sophisticated operation within prisons nationwide", with "intricate" processes and a co-ordinated distribution network. Murphy and Horne would work closely together, understanding other inmates' prison transfers and then circumvent the authorised prison property procedure to sneak drugs and contraband into fake property packages using Pinnington and Midgley.
Hot dog tins, mouthwash, washing powder and ultimately any items that could conceal drugs were used by the gang. The items were found to contain ketamine and cannabis as well as synthetic drugs such as spice and nicotine, in packages totalling tens of thousands of pounds.
Sentences Handed Down
With evidence stacked against the group, they all pleaded guilty following hearings at Sheffield Crown Court. Pinnington, who is being held at HMP New Hall, was sentenced to five years and six months, while Murphy, now of HMP Manchester, was sentenced to six years.
Horne, of HMP Lindholme, was sentenced to four years while his mum, of Halifax Road in Ripponden, was sentenced to 32 months. South Yorkshire Police Detective Sergeant Gareth Gent said: "Those involved in smuggling drugs into prisons are not just breaking the law, they are deliberately destabilising the prison environment, exploiting vulnerable people and fuelling violence, intimidation and criminality."
