A desperate mother tried to smuggle £5,000 worth of drugs into a prison so she could buy her children Christmas presents.
Emma Carr was promised £200 if she could get the haul of spice and cannabis past the guards at HMP Humber.
The 49-year-old was persuaded to attempt the smuggling operation by inmate Kyle Ferguson, Hull Crown Court heard.
The court was told how Carr tried to hand the drugs to Ferguson when she hugged him at the category C facility after a visit on December 14, 2018.
Prosecutor Nigel Clive said a prison officer noticed something was wrong and a search revealed a stash of narcotics had been exchanged.
Mr Clive said: ‘It was a package wrapped in cling film.
‘Miss Carr was detained by a prison officer and, as she waited for the police to arrive, she said she had been approached outside and asked to do the drop and would be paid at the end.
‘She gave the same account to police and said she didn’t know what was in the package but believed it to be tobacco as the drugs dog at the prison had let her walk past.’
An expert valued the drugs – which are at a premium behind bars – at £4,875.
Ferguson was serving a five-year sentence at the time for causing £100,000 worth of damage during a 44-hour rooftop standoff in Scunthorpe.
Riot police were called in when he spent almost two days launching bricks and roof tiles at officers in September, 2017.
Defending, Ed Moss said Carr, of Doncaster, was battling drug addiction at the time but had made great efforts to get clean.
He said: ‘She made a crass and stupid mistake that day.
‘She had lost her benefits through her lifestyle and was in a difficult place.
‘She’s now a trusted prisoner, wing cleaner and buddy helping prisoners struggling.
‘She’s 40 this year and wants to give herself a chance and her children a future.’
Carr was jailed for 15 months for supplying a class B drug and a psychoactive substance to another by Recorder David Gordon.
Sentencing on June 1, he said: ‘Drugs are a hard currency [in prison].
‘They give rise to violence and make the tasks of prison employees even harder than they already are.
‘You did what you did for £200 for your children’s Christmas presents.’
Kyle Ferguson was handed an extra 18 months in prison for his role back in September 2019.
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