Easier to get drugs than sugar, prisoner says

A coroner has called for action following a prisoner's death at HMP High Down after an inmate said it was easier to get drugs or a mobile phone at the prison than sugar.

Oliver Mulangala, 40, was found dead in his cell on 13 July 2024 and an inquest found it was a drug-related death with underlying causes of a seizure and drug toxicity - although the name of the fatal drug was redacted from the public prevention of future deaths report.

Surrey assistant coroner Jonathan Stevens said it was of "grave concern" that new "psychoactive substances" were easily available in prisons.

The Prison Service said it would consider the coroner's findings and respond to the report in due course.

Mr Mulangala had a history of substance misuse both in and out of prison and previously had a series of life-threatening seizures, the eight-day inquest found.

The coroner said new "psychoactive substances" were responsible for the death of a prisoner in England and Wales about every five days.

The report also flagged concerns about people developing drug habits in prison because of how available the substances were, vulnerable prisoners being forced to test new batches that came into the site, and mobile phones being available.

A copy of the report was sent to the secretary of state for justice, the minister of state for prisons, and the governor of HMP High Down.

During the inquest, the court heard from a prison officer who said use of the drug was a "daily occurrence".

Another officer said almost every day someone would be found under the influence of "new psychoactive substances".

They added that the drug was in every prison, but was a particular issue for HMP High Down, near Banstead in Surrey.

The report said between December 2022 and December 2024 there were 136 drug-related deaths in UK prisons.

In HMP High Down, there have been four drug-related deaths since 2022.

The chief inspector of prisons produced a report in October 2023 following an unannounced inspection of the prison raising concerns about the availability and use of illicit drugs at the site.

The inspector said the positive drug testing rate at HMP High Down was among the highest in adult male prisons.

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