Sheffield smuggler posted drugs into prison with his name and address attached

A Sheffield smuggler who posted drugs in a letter to a serving prisoner was tracked down after putting his own name and address on the correspondence, a court was told.
Leeds Crown Court.Leeds Crown Court.
Leeds Crown Court.

Ryan Burton, of Lupton Road, sent the letter to the woman in HMP New Hall in Flockton in August last year with a small amount of amphetamine wrapped in a cigarette paper inside the letter.It amounted to around £2.50 worth of the drug in street value, but was worth £10 in prison, Leeds Crown Court was told.The 33-year-old then wrote a small note saying "put some whizz for you in babe", whizz being the slang term for the Class B drug.After being intercepted by prison staff, he then sent another letter months later to ask if she received the drugs.He then wrote that he would have sent cannabis but feared the strong smell of the drug would have aroused suspicion. Forensic analysis found Burton's fingerprints on the letter, along with his details.He was arrested but refused to comment during interview.Burton admitted a charge of conveying drugs into a prison.Mitigating, Aubrey Sampson said that Burton he had never even met the female before and was only friends through Facebook.He said: "He accepts he put himself in a ridiculous scenario. He does not know why he did it."Mr Sampson said Burton was isolated, lived in a flat on his own and was looking for work as a handyman.

He said the lack of sophistication was evident by Burton putting his details on the letter.But Judge Simon Batiste said the message about drugs being smuggled into prisons had to be sent out.He added: "Drugs are a scourge in prisons. They cause all sorts of difficulties and the courts have said time and time again that people who are caught supplying drugs into prisons will themselves go to prison."Sadly, you chose to do that. You may not have thought hard about the consequences but you were aware it was a serious matter."Only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified."Burton was jailed for four months.