A mother-of-two who was dubbed 'Hayley Escobar' by a drug kingpin has been jailed for 15 years for smuggling cocaine worth £100,000 into a prison on the Isle of Man. Hayley Williams, 39, used her job as a food delivery driver as cover to transport cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and SIM cards into the prison.
Douglas Courthouse heard that a covert recording device placed in the hotel room of drug lord Jamie Smith revealed Williams was his 'main runner' and a 'trusted lieutenant'. In one extract, Smith referred to her as 'Hayley Escobar', a reference to Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar.
Forensic investigations found Williams' DNA on the knot of one of the bags containing drugs discovered at the prison on 8 May last year, proving she had packed it. She claimed she had given the package to an unnamed individual outside the prison, but her claims were not accepted by the prosecution.
Later that month, Williams was seen driving a silver Honda that picked up two men who had come off a ferry from Liverpool. Undercover officers found two bags of cocaine with a street value of up to £111,840, and she was arrested. Williams would make drug-drop deliveries and collect cash on behalf of Smith, as well as hiding and weighing drugs at her home and a secret location.
Williams pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine, importing the drug, and being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis. She also admitted supplying cocaine, ketamine and MDMA, and leaving prohibited articles intended to come into the possession of a prisoner. Judge Graeme Cook said the island was 'sick and tired of the amount of drugs getting in' and that 'a message needs to be sent out that it is not tolerated'.
Detective Inspector Jamie Tomlinson said Williams 'revelled in the position she had been given by Smith and she was prolific in the physical supply of controlled drugs for the period up to her arrest'. Smith was jailed for 20 years in January after the recording device was hidden in his hotel room for six weeks.
