‘Breaking Bad’ labs, glam mules & addict lags forced to ‘fight like dogs’… the murky Spice underworld flooding prisons

IT’S the terrifying 'fake cannabis' that leaves users 'zombified' and has been liable for astir HALF of non-natural situation deaths.

Cooked up successful dodgy “Breaking Bad-style” labs crossed the country, synthetic drug Spice has caused a “complete crisis” successful UK lock-ups and is being smuggled successful ingenious ways by a rising fig of criminals. 

Among them was glamorous Abigail Kavanagh, 25, who was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years this week for her portion successful a £300,000 cognition that included getting the unsafe fake weed into prisons. 

The kingpin - who besides disguised MDMA arsenic bath salts to smuggle it implicit borders - was recovered to person arranged Spice drop-offs to jails earlier being arrested arsenic portion of South Wales Police’s Operation Gemstone.

She’s conscionable the latest prison peddler of the Class B drug, which has been nicknamed AK-47 and is often hidden successful idiosyncratic and easy-to-smuggle items including children's drawings.

Shockingly, those who go addicted to Spice down bars are being turned into 'slaves' and adjacent made to "fight similar dogs" for the amusement of dealers.

And astir concerningly, the main culprits down the commercialized are feared to beryllium situation officers hiding down a veneer of respectability.

Ian Hamilton, a prof successful addiction astatine the University of York, said HMP workers are being corrupted much and much frequently, successful portion acknowledgment to the cost of living crisis.

He tells The Sun: "There's a batch of speech astir clamping down connected drugs successful prisons but they inactive negociate to get in.

"The much elaborate ways of getting successful Spice, specified arsenic connected children's pictures, marque the headlines but, if you privation a regular, committed proviso it is via staff. 

"There are problems with retention of situation unit and it's not a well-paid job. Perhaps officers trust connected other money smuggling successful drugs arsenic portion of their income, peculiarly present during a outgo of surviving crisis."

Now British crooks are seeing the worth of Spice and are mounting up amateur DIY labs successful towns and cities astir the country.

'Explosive labs'

The beingness of Spice successful prisons has exploded astatine an alarming complaint successful the past decade, with 48 per cent of “non-natural” deaths betwixt 2015 and 2020 attributable to the synthetic cannabinoids. 

Detective Chief Inspector James Faulkner, of Greater Manchester Police, antecedently spoke retired astir the deadly 'cooking' operations that enactment those who unrecorded adjacent successful harm's way.

He told The Times: “We’re seeing much of the Breaking Bad-style labs. Flats and houses are astatine hazard of blowing up due to the fact that of the chemistry involved."

More than 20 ingredients spell into Spice, including hydrochloric and sulphuric acid, which is often imported successful ample quantities from China. But determination are besides different concerning components.

In a Swindon lab, marshmallow leaf, a rat poison compound and saccharine flavourings were recovered successful a raid that uncovered 40kg of the drug. 

The premix - which smugglers besides vessel retired of the UK to far-flung locations including Kuwait and Nigeria - is truthful toxic that those creating it request to deterioration respiratory masks.

But guiltless bystanders - including children - person been caught successful the cross-fire of its accumulation and proscription too.

A root told america a grandmother, mum and her children were recovered to person Spice successful their systems aft being admitted with “suspected nutrient poisoning”.

“It turns retired the dada was successful situation and mum had smuggled successful spice connected the children’s drawings," they told The Sun.

"She dried retired the drawings connected a baking tray which was past utilized to navigator the beverage that night."

Smuggled successful Ribena, ineligible docs & drawings

Smuggling via children’s drawings is conscionable 1 of galore ways crooks person tried to get the cause into prisons - including wrong bottles of Ribena. 

That was the method of Amy Hatfield, 38, a intelligence health nursing adjunct astatine HMP Lindholme, successful South Yorks, who “flooded” the jailhouse with amerciable substances.

Her reign came to an extremity successful October 2019, erstwhile she was recovered with £1million worthy of drugs including 2 litres of Spice wrong Ribena bottles - the equivalent of 144,000 doses, which could each merchantability for £50 a pop. 

Hatfield, who was having a intersexual narration with a situation dealer, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment past year. 

Also successful 2023, Shay Bradshaw and Rachael Stewart were recovered to person soaked fake solicitors' letters successful the substance to smuggle it wrong and were jailed.   

Ex-prisoner Stuart Reid, from Coventry, tells The Sun: "Inmates fake ineligible documents due to the fact that they're not meant to beryllium photocopied, particularly if you request to motion them.

"Addicts simply get friends and household to transcript authoritative documents to effort and get Spice successful that way.”

Crooked officers

Stuart, a reformed crook who served 10 years successful Category A prisons for cause offences, suspects situation officers are the main culprits down smuggling too.

He tells us: “Staff bash a truly difficult, dangerous, poorly paid occupation and tin beryllium tempted to bring successful drugs.

"I'd accidental 90 per cent of unit are decent but there's ever that 10 percent who tin beryllium corrupted.”

HMP employees - including Hatfield, who fell successful emotion with a captive - are being progressively targeted aft a crackdown connected Spice being smuggled into lock-ups. 

The Government brought successful caller measures that saw inmates X-rayed and idiosyncratic letters, cards and pictures photocopied earlier being handed implicit to jailbirds - but ineligible documents are exempt from this.

Stuart, who wrote the book 10 Years a Cat A, tells america Spice is utilized arsenic a "currency" for revenge hits down bars.

He says: "A expanse of A4 insubstantial has astir 50 smokes connected it astatine astir £10 quid a clip truthful there's a batch of wealth to beryllium made and whoever has the Spice wields the power. 

"He controls who gets the drug, who is indebted to who and who forges alliances. I've seen inmates truthful hopeless for it that they volition rob different people's cells adjacent though they cognize the cameras are connected them. They don't attraction astatine that point.

"It's utilized to power different prisoners, turning them into cleaners oregon gophers. Most volition bash thing for Spice including a hit, which mightiness impact stabbing idiosyncratic oregon pouring blistery h2o implicit them."

Twisted videos

Addiction to Spice cripples the users and twisted dealers find pleasance successful filming and attacking those who are high. 

Some are forced oregon encouraged to beryllium “guinea pigs” for caller batches, which person progressively toxic and terrifying effects.

Jordan Needham, who was serving 9 years successful HMP Lindholme, spent 10 days successful a coma aft being coerced into trying the saltation of the drug. 

Another lag, Kyle Batsford, who was a 37-year-old father, died aft being bullied into investigating different batch successful September 2019.

It emerged successful a tribunal lawsuit past twelvemonth that helium had mislaid afloat show successful 1 of his eyes due to the fact that of it arsenic good arsenic the usage of his legs. 

Other users are filmed being abused for the amusement of sickos, which is past shared connected social media and with different inmates. 

Sickening mobile telephone footage, obtained during the probe into corrupted HMP worker Hatfield, revealed 2 precocious youngsters with makeshift leashes astir their necks being encouraged to “fight similar dogs”.

Another disgusting clip titled “HMP Spice Zombies”, which emerged successful 2019, showed addicts utilizing the cause being violently abused portion incapable to basal oregon combat backmost successful a cell.

It shows 1 helpless idiosyncratic struggling to basal earlier helium falls head-first into a partition portion different inmates outcry done laughter: “You’ve gone, you’ve gone man. Man down.”

Later he’s seen lying connected the level clinging to a descend with 1 hand. Another, who is arched implicit portion sat down, is viciously slapped crossed the look but is incapable to react. 

Reformed captive Stuart, who was jailed successful 2014 for conspiracy to proviso drugs, says helium would ne'er person got into trading Spice successful situation due to the fact that it's truthful dangerous.

Stuart said: “I saw radical getting bushed up implicit a fume and made a slave.

“One guy, who was a truly smart, bully kid ended up astatine the Belmarsh situation gross aft giving distant each his stuff, convinced that helium was being fto retired that day. That's however retired of it helium was connected this stuff.”

'Mass poisonings & madman attacks'

It’s not conscionable lags being affected by Spice. Increasingly situation officers are astatine hazard excessively - often aft the cause has been consumed.

Ashley Maclean, who worked successful Elmley Prison connected the Isle of Sheppey, suffered what were described arsenic “horrendous facial injuries” aft a precocious captive “violently attacked” him.

The assault, which occurred days earlier Christmas backmost successful 2018, was spoken retired astir earlier Parliament by his then-local MP Gordon Henderson.

The Tory campaigner said: “This was not an isolated incident. It happens each time of each week successful 1 oregon different of our prisons.”

That aforesaid year, captive Leighton Drew, 26, roared similar an carnal and past spot situation serviceman Thomas Morris aft blacking retired portion precocious connected the drug. 

Recalling the “off the scale” incident, the HM Prison Cardiff idiosyncratic of 19 years, said: “He was similar a madman.

“He continued to conflict and snarl past helium spot maine connected my near wrist. He was warring and trying to wound each oregon immoderate unit member.”

Also successful May, situation officers were victims of a “mass poisoning” aft lags moving successful their canteen spiked a “staff peculiar curry” with Spice. 

Nine ambulances were sent to high-security lock-up HMP Swaleside, successful Kent, wherever arsenic galore arsenic 25 employees were treated and 3 were taken to hospital. 

Professor Hamilton told us: "You tin ideate that determination are each sorts of scores and vendettas to settee successful prisons. 

“There is simply a immense saltation successful the mode that officers dainty the inmates and, I'm acrophobic to say, that immoderate are bullies and usage their powerfulness truthful you tin spot wherefore this benignant of retribution goes on."

Escalating problem

Concerningly Professor Hamilton warns that the situation Spice occupation could summation - particularly due to the fact that prisoners are being released aboriginal nether Labour’s caller law.

Named the SDS40 Early Release Scheme, those with definite offences and 40 per cent of the condemnation remaining tin beryllium fto retired early.

While it was intended to easiness situation overcrowding erstwhile successful August conscionable 100 spaces were near successful lock-ups successful England and Wales, Professor Hamilton says it could marque the occupation successful jails worse.

He tells us: "When you've got a churn of prisoners coming successful and out, it's different mode for drugs to get in. Testing instrumentality successful prisons is laughable truly due to the fact that it's truthful antiquated.”

Professor Hamilton said Spice is the cause of prime due to the fact that it's harder to observe and leaves the strategy arsenic rapidly arsenic 24 hours - compared to non-synthetic cannabis which takes weeks.

Ex-prisoner Stuart says: "I don't privation to glamorise drugs successful immoderate mode but you've got guys successful high-security jails doing 30 years sentences who privation to spell determination other - and they are taken determination by Spice. That's the attraction. Sad, but true."