A prolific Chesham criminal who smuggled drugs to a prison inmate ended up in jail himself after he was caught by eagle-eyed officers, a court heard.
Mohammed Shabab, 23, was arrested after he was seen handing over cannabis and two mobile phones during a visit at Wandsworth Prison.
Shabab said he felt under pressure because the man was being threatened by other cons, who wanted him to get drugs.
He admitted two counts of taking prohibited articles into prison and was jailed for a year at Kingston Crown Court last November.
He appealed today, but three senior judges at the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, which they said was fair.
Mr Justice Phillips said Shabab already had a long criminal record, with convictions for 15 offences.
They included one for possession of heroin with intent to supply when he was a teenager.
He was caught out during the prison visit in June 2017 after he was seen removing an item from under his top and passing it to the inmate.
It contained two mobile phones, a lead and a package containing cannabis.
The sentencing judge at the crown court said Shabab would have known the consequences of taking drugs into prison, having been inside before.
His lawyers argued that 12 months' jail was too tough, but the appeal judge, sitting with Lord Justice Gross and Mrs Justice Lang, said it was perfectly fair.
"He attempted to smuggle both mobile phones and drugs into prison in circumstances where he himself had not long before left that environment," he said.
"The judge was fully entitled to impose a significantly higher sentence to reflect the overall criminality and aggravating factors of his offending history.
"His total sentence of 12 months was neither wrong in principle, nor manifestly excessive. We dismiss this appeal."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel