Shropshire Star

Brothers with 62 convictions are jailed for HMP Stoke Heath cannabis plot

Two brothers with 62 convictions between them have been jailed for conspiring to smuggle cannabis and mobile phones into a Shropshire prison.

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Wayne and Lee Moss made arrangements through telephone conversations to get the goods into HMP Stoke Heath, near Market Drayton, where Lee Moss was an inmate, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard.

Wayne Moss, 39, was jailed for a total of 12 months, while Lee Moss, 35, was handed a 14-month sentence.

The pair, from Crewe, had both admitted charges of conspiring to convey cannabis resin and two mobile phones into the prison.

Wayne Moss, of Wistaston Road, was out of prison on licence. Their phone calls were being monitored as a matter of routine by prison officers who discovered their plan.

Mr Robert Edwards, prosecuting, told the court Wayne Moss was spotted acting suspiciously outside the prison grounds by officers on September 29. They asked him what he was doing and he said he was looking for somewhere to fish.

Half an hour later, a phone call between the brothers was intercepted and officers heard Lee Moss ask his brother had done with "the thing". Wayne Moss said it had been buried.

Mr Edwards said a search of the area using sniffer dogs uncovered a black sock containing two mobile phones and 191 grams of cannabis resin. Tests revealed Wayne Moss's fingerprints.

Wayne Moss has 41 convictions for wounding, assault, possession of heroin and methadone, robbery, burglary and handling stolen goods between 1989 and 2003. Lee Moss has 21 convictions including arson, assault, attempting to escape lawful custody, intimidating a witness or juror, possession of cannabis, burglary and shop lifting between 1995 and 2010.

Mr Patrick Thompson, for Wayne Moss, said: "His life has been blighted by addiction to one drug or another."

Ms Sharon Bailey, for Lee Moss, said the cannabis was for his own use.

Judge Robin Onions gave Wayne Moss two jail sentences of six months to run consecutively, of which he must serve half.

His brother received two sentences of seven months to run consecutively, of which he must serve half.

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