October 11, 2021 5.24 pm This story is over 29 months old

Lincolnshire prison officer jailed for smuggling weed in his trousers

He was paid £4k to bring drugs to inmates
Joe Christopher Baggaley and Ivan Freeman-Lunt were among the men sentenced. Police would not release an image of Jake Nichols. | Photo: Leicestershire Police/EMSOU

A former prison officer from Grantham has been jailed for smuggling drugs in his trousers after being paid nearly £4,000 to bring cannabis to inmate Joe Baggaley.

Jack Nichols, 29, trafficked the Class B drug into HMP Stocken in Rutland, where he worked as a prison officer.

He was one of five men, who had previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the plot to supply cannabis into jail.

They were all sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on October 8, with Nichols jailed for one year and four months.

A drugs dog indicated at Nichols during a routine search in August 2019. He admitted there was cannabis in his car ready to be stuffed into his trousers and walked in.

A search of the car revealed two blocks of resin wrapped in clingfilm, weighing just under 200g, in the glove box.

More of the same was discovered within a bedside table at his home in Grantham, as well as just under 100g already hidden in a cell at the prison.

Five men were sentenced for their involvement in the plot to supply cannabis into jail. | Photo: Leicestershire Police/EMSOU

Further enquiries by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) found Nichols had been paid nearly £4,000 to bring cannabis to Baggaley, who was described as the ‘coordinator’ and ‘organiser’ during sentencing.

The prisoner’s friend on the outside, James Hanks, was involved in collecting the drug from Ivan Freeman-Lunt in Liverpool. Mitchell Dytiche was found to be involved in the bank transfers.

Five sentenced

  • Joe Christopher Baggaley, 23, of HMP Stocken was jailed for three years (to run consecutively to his current term) for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug
  • Ivan Emmanuel Freeman-Lunt, 42, formerly of Barrington Road in Liverpool, was jailed for two years and one month for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug
  • Jake Nichols, 29, and formerly of Bedford Close in Grantham, was jailed for one year and four months for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug, possession with intent to supply a Class B drug, and conveying a prohibited item (namely a Class B drug) into prison. The 16-month custodial terms for each count will run concurrently 
  • Mitchell Dytiche, 24, of Brittle Place in Smallthorne in Staffordshire, was sentenced to 20 months in prison suspended for two years for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug
  • James Hanks, 25, of Becton Avenue in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years, as well as a 20-day rehabilitation order, for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug

*Leicestershire Police said they do not release custody images for any sentences below two years.