Drugs and phones smuggled into jail, court told

Drugs and phones were smuggled into a prison in a "highly lucrative" operation, a court has heard.

Yannan Reid, Fatimaalzhra Yousif, Chukuemeka Anumnne, 30, and Jay Lindo, 31, have all denied conspiring to get cannabis, mobile phones and Sim cards into HMP Lewes in 2023.

Hove Crown Court heard Reid was already in the East Sussex jail at the time of his alleged involvement in the offences.

Reid is said to have used a smuggled phone to contactYousif, his 23-year-old girlfriend, to organise getting in the contraband.

Amy Packham, prosecuting, told the court this included instructions about weights and prices, packages of drugs and tobacco, references to USBs and phones, messages about payments and bank account details.

The operation was dubbed "highly lucrative" because inmates pay a premium for items which are banned from cells, the court was told.

Yousif, from London, is accused of receiving about £27,000 in unexplained payments.

When asked in a police interview why she had received such a large amount of money, the beauty therapist and piercer said most of her clients would pay in cash and that she had sold kittens worth thousands of pounds, the court heard.

Anumnne and Lindo, also from London, were arrested near the perimeter of HMP Lewes in March 2023 after police were told items were being thrown into the prison grounds, the jury heard.

Cannabis, tobacco, cigarette papers, phones, USB cables and a Sim card removal tool was found when their vehicle was searched, the court was told.

The prosecution said the items were "packaged and ready to be thrown over the wall."

The trial continues.

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