£3.5million stash of drug Spice found in two cells in crisis-hit prison
The stash of synthetic cannabis, weighing 5kg, was found at HMP Northumberland and is thought to be the biggest found at a UK jail
A £3.5 MILLION stash of the drug Spice has been found in a crisis-hit jail.
The 5kg haul of synthetic cannabis is thought to be the biggest at a UK prison.
The drugs were found by staff in two cells at HMP Northumberland, which was taken over by French firm Sodexo in 2013.
Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers’ Association said the haul was worth £350,000 behind bars.
But he added: “The street value is probably around ten times that.
“We believe this is the biggest find of drugs ever in a UK prison.
“You are talking about five kilos which is too much to get in using drones.
“This is full-scale smuggling.”
He called for a public inquiry into how it got into the category C jail near Acklington, which has been rocked by scandals.
In April an inmate stole an officer’s keys, forcing bosses to spend £1m on changing locks.
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Last month staff had to call in reinforcements after prisoners ran riot — while the number of emergency callouts has placed an “unsustainable” strain on the local ambulance service.
Local MP Ian Lavery has said: “Action needs to be taken due to the alarming nature of incidents.
The current staff shortages and poor staff morale are not acceptable.”
A Sodexo spokesman said: “Staff recovered a significant amount of drugs during a pre-planned and proactive operation.
“A police investigation is underway.”