Corruption & bribery behind bars exposed as ex-con reveals lags pay £500 for KFC & how inmates have sex with guards
PRISONERS are paying guards up to £500 to smuggle in a KFC bargain bucket.
And they will shell out as much as £200 for a pack of Rizla fag papers to be sneaked into jail.
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Corruption and bribery are rife in British prisons
Credit: Alamy
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UK Prisons Exposed: Sex, Drugs and Corruption, which is available to stream on Channel 4 from tonight, is presented by ex-inmate David Navarro
The bribery behind bars is revealed in a documentary that also lifts the lid on how lags get their hands on booze and drugs — and have sexual relations with warders.
UK Prisons Exposed: Sex, Drugs and Corruption, which is available to stream on Channel 4 from tonight, is presented by ex-inmate David Navarro.
He has spent a decade in and out of custody so knows the dodgy dealings that go on — with officers often turning a blind eye, or up to their necks in it.
The documentary even features footage secretly shot by cons to show off their often sizeable stashes of contraband — known in the trade as 'bird'.
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READ MORE ON PRISONS
Weed is heaped in a cell, along with a pile of mobile phones, bottles of high-end Ciroc vodka, Courvoisier brandy, Wray & Nephew rum and boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, plus KFC, Nando's, McDonald's and Chinese takeaway feasts.
'That bird just keeps on coming,' a man can be heard chuckling.
Another adds: 'It's like Carphone Warehouse.'
Bringing things in, that's their (officers) bread & butter. It might be a pack of Rizlas for £200. I've seen it so many times on different occasions
Nathan
But officers not earning big money will often stand back and do nothing.
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Most read in The Sun
In one clip, a warder smells drugs but just says: 'I told you, open the f***ing window.'
A prisoner called Nathan, wearing a balaclava as a disguise, claims that many staff — who are on about £33,000 a year — are wide open to bungs.
Prisoner who had sex with female guard is violently attacked while holding baby in family visit – fracturing tot's skull
He reveals: 'I have seen it so many times.
'It could have been a Nando's from outside or a KFC.
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'It could be phones, it could be drugs.
'It could be anything.'
Asked how much prisoners pay for deliveries, Nathan adds: 'That all depends on the officer.
Secret affair
'If she wants to say to you, '500 quid' and you really want it, then you're gonna pay 500 quid for a KFC bargain bucket.
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'That's an expensive KFC.'
He adds of the guards: 'Bringing things in, that's their bread and butter.
'It might be a pack of Rizlas for one hundred, two hundred quid.'
Big-money backhander payments are often processed by someone on the outside.
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But prisoners also blackmail officers into bringing them banned items, by amassing personal text messages to use against them.
Nathan says of getting guards to play ball: 'You've got to build up slowly, slowly, build up your relationship on the wing, test the waters or be flirty — do what you gotta do until you secure the bag.
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Prisoner Nathan claims that many staff — who are on about £33,000 a year — are wide open to bungs, pictured being interviewed by David
Credit: Channel 4
6
Former prisoner Beatrice, who did time for money laundering, says guards make moves on inmates
Credit: Channel 4
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'If there are text messages . . . I've got you under my thumb.'
Meanwhile, another jailbird reveals how lusty lags get it on with prison visitors as well as officers.
In a video call made on an illegal phone, he says: 'We call it patterning up with them.
'It's a mixture of male and female.
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'It could even be your healthcare worker, it could be your education teacher, it could be anybody.'
A former warder who gives her name as just Rachel, was a married mother of four when she began a secret affair with an armed robber serving a ten-year sentence.
Rachel, 29, says about her old job: 'The hours were ridiculous, the overtime was ridiculous, it ruined my marriage because I was never there.
'We hit rock bottom, I took my ring off.'
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An inmate then started coming on to her at work.
She recalls: 'He approached me wanting help, we had a few conversations.
'There was banter, inappropriate comments — then I shared photos and a sexually explicit letter.
Storeroom romp
'As soon as I'd given it to him, I said, 'You need to flush it away'. He told me had.'
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But the images were found, and in 2022 Rachel was convicted of neglecting her duties, got a suspended sentence and community service — and was fired.
She insists: 'There had been no storeroom romp.'
But at her trial, the judge said 'CCTV footage shows the two of you together and you were in a room privately, together. Intimacy must have taken place.'
Another ex-officer, called Moses, reveals goings-on such as this are common.
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6
What lags are smuggling in
He says: 'Female prison officers get a lot of attention from prisoners, it's bound to happen.
'If they are not strong-minded they get drawn in.
'If they are smart and keep their mouth shut it can go on for a long time.
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'But when it moves to exploitation — getting the officer to bring in phones, [synthetic cannabis substitutes] spice and black mamba, all the illegal substances, it becomes too big to manage.
'From the prisoners' perspective it's just business.
'He's trying to bring in illicit items, and sell them.'
But former prisoner Beatrice, who did time for money laundering, says guards also make moves on inmates.
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While the vast majority of prison staff are honest, we are catching more of the small minority who break the rules, through our Counter-Corruption Unit
A Prison Service spokesman
She reveals: 'An officer would regularly comment on my appearance.
'He suggested he would want to come in my cell or meet up when I was released.
'He would say things like, 'I'm all yours'.
'Other members of staff recognised his behaviour was creepy but if you make a complaint the staff are going to protect each other.
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'I heard other allegations that officers had relationships with women on the drug-addiction wing, it's common knowledge that this happens all the time.'
A Prison Service spokesman said: 'While the vast majority of prison staff are honest, we are catching more of the small minority who break the rules, through our Counter-Corruption Unit.
'Where officers fall below our high standards, we take robust action.'
6
Prisoners are paying guards up to £500 to smuggle in KFC
Credit: Getty
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The Irish Sun
14 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Corruption & bribery behind bars exposed as ex-con reveals lags pay £500 for KFC & how inmates have sex with guards
PRISONERS are paying guards up to £500 to smuggle in a KFC bargain bucket. And they will shell out as much as £200 for a pack of Rizla fag papers to be sneaked into jail. Advertisement 6 Corruption and bribery are rife in British prisons Credit: Alamy 6 UK Prisons Exposed: Sex, Drugs and Corruption, which is available to stream on Channel 4 from tonight, is presented by ex-inmate David Navarro The bribery behind bars is revealed in a documentary that also lifts the lid on how lags get their hands on booze and drugs — and have sexual relations with warders. UK Prisons Exposed: Sex, Drugs and Corruption, which is available to stream on Channel 4 from tonight, is presented by ex-inmate David Navarro. He has spent a decade in and out of custody so knows the dodgy dealings that go on — with officers often turning a blind eye, or up to their necks in it. The documentary even features footage secretly shot by cons to show off their often sizeable stashes of contraband — known in the trade as 'bird'. Advertisement READ MORE ON PRISONS Weed is heaped in a cell, along with a pile of mobile phones, bottles of high-end Ciroc vodka, Courvoisier brandy, Wray & Nephew rum and boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, plus KFC, Nando's, McDonald's and Chinese takeaway feasts. 'That bird just keeps on coming,' a man can be heard chuckling. Another adds: 'It's like Carphone Warehouse.' Bringing things in, that's their (officers) bread & butter. It might be a pack of Rizlas for £200. I've seen it so many times on different occasions Nathan But officers not earning big money will often stand back and do nothing. Advertisement Most read in The Sun In one clip, a warder smells drugs but just says: 'I told you, open the f***ing window.' A prisoner called Nathan, wearing a balaclava as a disguise, claims that many staff — who are on about £33,000 a year — are wide open to bungs. Prisoner who had sex with female guard is violently attacked while holding baby in family visit – fracturing tot's skull He reveals: 'I have seen it so many times. 'It could have been a Nando's from outside or a KFC. Advertisement 'It could be phones, it could be drugs. 'It could be anything.' Asked how much prisoners pay for deliveries, Nathan adds: 'That all depends on the officer. Secret affair 'If she wants to say to you, '500 quid' and you really want it, then you're gonna pay 500 quid for a KFC bargain bucket. Advertisement 'That's an expensive KFC.' He adds of the guards: 'Bringing things in, that's their bread and butter. 'It might be a pack of Rizlas for one hundred, two hundred quid.' Big-money backhander payments are often processed by someone on the outside. Advertisement But prisoners also blackmail officers into bringing them banned items, by amassing personal text messages to use against them. Nathan says of getting guards to play ball: 'You've got to build up slowly, slowly, build up your relationship on the wing, test the waters or be flirty — do what you gotta do until you secure the bag. 6 Prisoner Nathan claims that many staff — who are on about £33,000 a year — are wide open to bungs, pictured being interviewed by David Credit: Channel 4 6 Former prisoner Beatrice, who did time for money laundering, says guards make moves on inmates Credit: Channel 4 Advertisement 'If there are text messages . . . I've got you under my thumb.' Meanwhile, another jailbird reveals how lusty lags get it on with prison visitors as well as officers. In a video call made on an illegal phone, he says: 'We call it patterning up with them. 'It's a mixture of male and female. Advertisement 'It could even be your healthcare worker, it could be your education teacher, it could be anybody.' A former warder who gives her name as just Rachel, was a married mother of four when she began a secret affair with an armed robber serving a ten-year sentence. Rachel, 29, says about her old job: 'The hours were ridiculous, the overtime was ridiculous, it ruined my marriage because I was never there. 'We hit rock bottom, I took my ring off.' Advertisement An inmate then started coming on to her at work. She recalls: 'He approached me wanting help, we had a few conversations. 'There was banter, inappropriate comments — then I shared photos and a sexually explicit letter. Storeroom romp 'As soon as I'd given it to him, I said, 'You need to flush it away'. He told me had.' Advertisement But the images were found, and in 2022 Rachel was convicted of neglecting her duties, got a suspended sentence and community service — and was fired. She insists: 'There had been no storeroom romp.' But at her trial, the judge said 'CCTV footage shows the two of you together and you were in a room privately, together. Intimacy must have taken place.' Another ex-officer, called Moses, reveals goings-on such as this are common. Advertisement 6 What lags are smuggling in He says: 'Female prison officers get a lot of attention from prisoners, it's bound to happen. 'If they are not strong-minded they get drawn in. 'If they are smart and keep their mouth shut it can go on for a long time. Advertisement 'But when it moves to exploitation — getting the officer to bring in phones, [synthetic cannabis substitutes] spice and black mamba, all the illegal substances, it becomes too big to manage. 'From the prisoners' perspective it's just business. 'He's trying to bring in illicit items, and sell them.' But former prisoner Beatrice, who did time for money laundering, says guards also make moves on inmates. Advertisement While the vast majority of prison staff are honest, we are catching more of the small minority who break the rules, through our Counter-Corruption Unit A Prison Service spokesman She reveals: 'An officer would regularly comment on my appearance. 'He suggested he would want to come in my cell or meet up when I was released. 'He would say things like, 'I'm all yours'. 'Other members of staff recognised his behaviour was creepy but if you make a complaint the staff are going to protect each other. Advertisement 'I heard other allegations that officers had relationships with women on the drug-addiction wing, it's common knowledge that this happens all the time.' A Prison Service spokesman said: 'While the vast majority of prison staff are honest, we are catching more of the small minority who break the rules, through our Counter-Corruption Unit. 'Where officers fall below our high standards, we take robust action.' 6 Prisoners are paying guards up to £500 to smuggle in KFC Credit: Getty Advertisement
The Irish Sun
19 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
UK farm said to be at centre of car thefts – graveyard of ‘100s of stolen motors dumped & stored before sold overseas'
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The Irish Sun
19 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How dark secret of kebab shop could hold key to missing Georgina Gharsallah who vanished without trace
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Gangs were starting to take a much stronger foothold in the city. Advertisement READ MORE TRUE CRIME 'This particular Albanian gang was the Dema family. 'Don't mess with them' - that was the reputation. There would be some serious violence. They would do that in a way that wouldn't draw attention to them. 'It was a focal point for the start of our operation. We would be looking at the front of Albion Kebabs, to understand the people who were working there, who controlled it, to build a picture." Asked if he thought Georgina had fallen foul of the gang that owned the shop where she worked, and been disposed of, Andy said: "It wouldn't surprise me at all. 'I know the levels of work that have gone into that case. And my gut feeling is she's not coming back. I don't think we're going to find any answers.' Advertisement Most read in The Sun Latest Since Georgina went missing her bank cards have never been used, her prescriptions never collected and friends and family haven't heard from her either. In August 2019 the case was reclassified as a murder case from a missing person, as there were no signs she was still alive. Georgina Gharsallah's family make desperate appeal on This Morning to find her after she vanished in 2018 Police still haven't found a body, or even so much as a hair sample. Georgina's devastated mum Andrea doesn't believe there are sufficient grounds to declare her daughter dead. Advertisement She said: 'We were like, 'Well how [can they say she's dead]? You haven't got any evidence.' They just say it's because of the lack of proof of life, but for me that's not enough.' Georgina's family had assumed she was staying with friends or her partner when she didn't return that day in March 2018. My gut feeling is she's not coming back. I don't think we're going to find any answers Police officer When Georgina's worried boyfriend Christian Slater rang Andrea asking of her whereabouts, the family raised the alarm. But Andrea and Georgina's family were confident she would return. Advertisement 'We still at Christmas [2018] laid the table for her,' 'I used to think I don't want the bad answers, and go all my life looking, and have that hope. But I'm at that stage now that I want the answers, even if they're bad.' Dangerous crowd 12 Georgina was a loving mum-of-two Credit: Prime Features Agency 12 Andrea has constantly appealed for help to find out what happened to her daughter Credit: Prime Features Agency Advertisement 12 Georgina disappeared while in Worthing 12 Georgina's last movements are tracked on CCTV but there is doubt this figure seen on the street is her Credit: Sussex Police Georgina had become involved with unsavoury characters in the town, according to people who knew her. She was also alleged to have been hiding drugs in her flat for convicted drug dealer Aldo Aringa, who was in prison at the time of her disappearance. Advertisement Shop owner Mick Symes claims he saw her hanging around with Albanian drug dealers, and told the documentary: 'The common denominator of people I've seen Georgina walking round the town with or talking with or I know, know her, are involved in class A drugs. 'I'm not saying that Georgina was. But certainly the people she went around with were involved in the supply of drugs, and some quite serious and unpleasant situations. 'I believe [her disappearance] is related to the drug supply in Worthing and Brighton. And the people who are involved at the higher end.' Georgina's boyfriend Christian also told how she appeared to be struggling and had turned to binge-drinking in an attempt to cope. Advertisement He claimed her erratic behaviour had led to their relationship starting to break down. The common denominator of people I've seen Georgina walking round the town with or talking with or I know, know her, are involved in class A drugs Shop owner Mick Symes So when she didn't answer his calls and texts for a few days, he'd assumed she was ignoring him after a disagreement. 'It was a really good relationship in the beginning - it was after Christmas time that everything just went a bit crazy,' he said. 'She started drinking more, arguments started to occur. When she got upset, she got a bit fiery. I was the same. We were two peas in a pod in that way.' Advertisement Christian said Georgina would walk out during arguments and visit her "Albanian friends". 'Everyone knew Georgina, she knew a lot of people in Brighton," he said. "When we used to have an argument, she'd go down and see her Albanian friends. 'She'd stay with her Albanian friends at the Royal Albion Hotel, that was where she'd go down and see them. Advertisement "The kebab shop she used to work in was the Albion Kebab shop.' 'Wall of silence' 12 Georgina was close to her mum, who still hopes that her daughter will return safe and sound 12 Georgina with her sisters as a child Credit: Supplied 12 The young mum was going through a rocky patch with her partner Credit: Prime Features Agency Advertisement It wasn't just family and police who reached a dead end trying to find out what happened to Georgina. Even local journalists looking into her disappearance were stonewalled. Steve, a freelance journalist, said: 'What we ran into very quickly was almost a wall of silence at the time. 'A lot of it was fear - a lot of her friends were too scared to come forward. Advertisement 'There was talk that Georgina had become involved with people who may have been dangerous.' He added: 'We found at times Georgina was a troubled soul, but what was clear was that she had a lot of family support around her.' Former police officer Andy reckons the silence is for a reason - because the gangs don't want to be caught. He told the documentary: 'There would be some serious violence [if you crossed the Albanian gang]. They would do that in a way that doesn't draw attention to them. Advertisement 'Many years ago there was a shooting in Hove not far from where we are sat. That brought a lot of heat on the Albanian community at that time. 'I think from that moment on, they realised that by doing that, you're bringing yourself into that headlights [so they're more discreet]." Presenter Professor Wilson said: 'It's almost like she's swallowed up by the darkness… of organised crime." In the Footsteps of Killers airs tonight at 10pm on Channel 4. Advertisement 12 Georgina left behind two children who are now teenagers Credit: Prime Features Agency 12 Professor David Wilson and Emilia Fox investigated Georgina's case for the documentary Credit: Channel 4 12 An unidentified police officer told how he fears she will never be found Credit: Getty
