A prison healthcare assistant smuggled ketamine into a prison after 'forming a relationship' with an inmate who she met through her work.
Megan Woodham, 30, used her job to conceal the shipments of drugs which she then handed over to inmate Daniel Doran. She also used her home in Wigan as a "safehouse" for a gang involved in the supply of millions of pounds of cocaine.
A trial at Liverpool Crown Court previously heard that Doran was a serving prisoner at HMP Risley in Warrington between December 2021 and February 2022, with Woodham having been employed as a health worker in the jail, the ECHO reports.
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David Watson, prosecuting, described how they - together with co-defendants Kelsey Higgins and John Butler - were "involved in the supply of a very large quantity of high purity cocaine".
The inmate had access to a mobile phone while behind bars and "organised the moving of cocaine from location to location" from his cell "under the noses of authorities".
Woodham, a single mum, was said to have "formed some sort of relationship" with the 32-year-old through her work and would "willingly assist him by allowing her home address to be used for the storage of parcels" of drugs.
Higgins, meanwhile, was described as a close associate of Doran's cousin, Butler, who was arrested while travelling to his home in possession of 10kg of cocaine on January 8 last year.
His Volkwagen Golf was stopped by police heading in the direction of the Bootle area in Merseyside. Officers discovered a black bag in the passenger footwell which contained 10, 1kg packages of the class A drugs.
These illicit substances had an estimated street value of up to a million pounds.
This seizure sparked an investigation by Merseyside Police, with Butler's seized phone revealing his communications with co-conspirators. He was described as having been "used to carry out criminal tasks" by Doran.
The probe also uncovered a "separate agreement" between Woodham and Doran, in which she "agreed to assist him by taking delivery of packages of ketamine from his criminal associates". She then smuggled these drugs into Risley prison, going undetected thanks to her job, and handed them over to the inmate.
Jurors were told that Doran texted Butler - who he "used to run errands" - on December 14 2021, supplying him with Woodham's then home address on Moat Hall Lane in Wigan. His tasks included the collection of money and the transportation of drugs.
Five days later, Doran called 26-year-old Higgins in order to make arrangements for him to take delivery of the 10kg of cocaine. On January 2, he further messaged Butler to "sort a parcy" - a reference to a parcel of drugs.
The following day, Woodham was observed on CCTV in HMP Risley alone in the D wing of the prison where Doran was housed and carrying a bag which she "would not normally be expected to have taken onto the wing". The mum would also "not normally be expected to be on her own in that part of the prison".
Her main duties were carrying out blood tests for prisoners, but Doran was not due to receive one on the day in question. The camera footage showed Woodham approaching his cell before leaning into it, "in all likelihood, passing Doran a package of drugs".
Both then "took a keen interest in the location of the prison officers immediate afterwards". Doran said in a text a few days later that he had "been under the influence of drugs" since January 3 - "further suggestive he had had drugs delivered to him by Woodham, effectively using her job as a cover".
Doran, Higgins and Woodham were all arrested on Valentine's Day last year and gave no comment under interview.
Woodham has no previous convictions. Carmel Wilde described the single mother as having a "caring nature", saying in her mitigation: "She served as a healthcare assistant for some 12 years, including through the traumatic covid times.
"It has all been ruined now in a devastating way with very serious offences. Clearly her family and friends remain in shock.
"Ms Woodham took the job in Risley, but became easy prey to sophisticated criminals. She was in a position of trust, but I invite your honour to take into account her vulnerability to hardened criminals."
Woodham, now of Ormskirk Road in Pemberton, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and ketamine. She burst into tears after being jailed for six years then turned to members of her family in the public gallery and said: "I love you."
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