A county lines drugs gang has been preying on inmates at a young offender institution, prison inspectors have revealed.
Banged-up youths controlled by organised crime crews have helped arrange for drugs to be thrown over the walls or dropped by drones.
The dealers doing time have a ready market in the supposedly high security youth jail, which holds 120-plus kids who are aged 15 to 18, said a source.
There also fears the illicit trade may hook youngsters at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution in Rochester, Kent, on to harder drugs.
The source said: “This will raise major security concerns. This is supposed to be a centre to deter people from continuing a life of crime as adults – instead some are becoming even more hardened offenders.”
The drugs operation was revealed in a report by the Independent Monitoring Board, a watchdog which sends teams to inspect prisons.
It said: “The influence of county lines has had an impact in Cookham Wood during this reporting year.
“There have been several reports of throwovers [of drugs] found in the prison grounds, and possible use of mobile phones by boys inside to co-ordinate a throwover or drop via a drone.
“It is exceptionally rare for boys entering Cookham Wood to be addicted to hard drugs or alcohol and/or to require clinical treatment for dependency.
“However, many have used cannabis, alcohol and nitrous oxide on a regular basis, and some have been involved in county lines dealing.
“These boys are vulnerable to developing dependencies on their release.”
The name county lines refers to the dedicated mobile phone numbers used by each gang as a hotline for buyers.
It is also a nod to the way mobs move drugs from inner cities further afield to counties, where there is a less competition for selling their wares.
Rob Preece, of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This worrying report demonstrates why prison is no place for a child. Drugs are a destructive force in prisons.
“Where there is drug abuse, there is also debt and violence. We know the number of confiscations recorded by staff does not tell the full story about the extent of the problem.
“Ministers have spent millions on tightening security, but the best way to reduce the supply of drugs into prisons is to reduce the demand for them in the first place. This means ensuring boys in Cookham Wood are involved in education and positive activity and are given the support they need.”
Kent Police declined to comment. The Ministry of Justice said: “We’ve invested over £100 million in airport-style security across the prisons estate to clamp down on drugs and are working closely with police to stop contraband entering HMP Cookham Wood.”
