A woman, who regularly smuggled drugs on demand into prisons, including Risley, described herself as “the best in the Northwest.”
Katie Wilkinson’s illicit business – run to feed her own addiction – ran aground though when she was caught taking high-purity cocaine into Risley prison in Warrington.
The 38-year-old today (Tue) found herself in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court admitting being concerned in supplying crack cocaine to prisoners at the Forest Bank, Dovegate and Risley between August 20 and November 1, 2022.
She also admitted two offences of conveying cocaine and cannabis resin into HMP Risley on November 3, 2022.
Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, said that she had been involved on “several” occasions taking Class A drugs into a number of different prisons.
On November 3, 2022 she went into Risley prison and was seen to give an inmate a package. When this was recovered it was found to contain 7.6 grams of cocaine at 80% purity worth up to £7,500 behind bars.
It also contained 93 grams of cannabis resin worth up to £2,600 in prison. The package also contained a substance to detract from drug detection, said Mr Hopkins.
Wilkinson, of Spring Gardens, Atherton, Greater Manchester, who has a previous conviction for producing cannabis, was arrested but released under investigation.
Examination of her mobile phone revealed a large number of messages mainly in the previous October indicating involvement in street dealing in crack cocaine, including a flare message to contacts.
These also included asking for help “bagging” drugs and helping prepare crack.
Mr Hopkins said that the messages also spoke of her going to HMP Dovegate on two days one week and then Risley, which was the day she was arrested.
When asked by one client if she was “still ok” to do the prison visits she replied, “They don’t call me Katie, the best from the Northwest, for nothing.”
John Shanks, defending, said that since the offences Wilkinson has voluntarily been seeing a drugs counsellor and no longer uses drugs at all. She was with a new partner in stable accommodation and trying to re-engage with her children.
“In the past 18 months, she has made huge strides and she has managed to remove herself from those circles.”
Judge Neil Flewitt, KC, said he was “going to stick my neck out”, and sentenced the defendant to 20 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months.
He also ordered her to carry out 15 days rehabilitation activities and imposed a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
He said that imprisonment was inevitable but he was taking the “wholly exceptional course” of suspending it and warned her if she breached the order she would go to jail.
Judge Flewitt said that the Court of Appeal had repeatedly said that those taking drugs into prison had to be jailed to deter others “but there are in my judgement some unusual features in this case.
“The most significant is that there has been a long and unjustified delay in getting to this stage.”
He said the offences happened when she had a chronic addiction to Class A drugs “and would literally do anything to get money for drugs. A lot has changed since then.
“You have done everything you can reasonably be expected to do to put this behind you.”
The judge added that if rehabilitation did not happen now “it is never going to happen. If you go back to prison and lose everything you have worked for in my judgement the chances of relapsing are quite high.”
