Prison officer caught with Class A drugs jailed for six years

A former prison officer from South Wales has been jailed for six years after large amount of controlled drugs were found in her car.

Jodie Beer, age 30, of Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taff, was a prison officer in Parc Prison, Bridgend, when she was caught with the drugs in February 2022. 

During a break she returned to her vehicle in the carpark where she was stopped by police officers.

After a search, officers seized a zip lock bag containing light brown powder and tubes of white tablets from the centre console of her car. On the front passenger seat, they found a plastic bag that contained large cartons labelled as orange juice, which Beer initially claimed someone had placed there.

She was arrested and the orange juice cartons were found to contain controlled drugs of class A and C as well as mobile phones and SIM cards.

A search of her address was conducted and almost £4,000 in cash was seized. An application will be made in due course for it to be confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Beer was interviewed and stated that she was asked by a prisoner to take items into the prison and told that she would be paid £5,000 to do so.

She later met an unknown person in a layby where she took possession of the drugs, including the orange juice cartons that had been pre-packed, as well as an amount of cash.

Beer was sentenced today at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after she pleaded guilty to three offences of possession with intent to supply and one offence of misconduct in public office.

Sarah Ingram from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “What Beer did in arranging to take large amounts of controlled drugs into the prison where she worked was a gross breach of trust.

“The drugs had been prepped to take into the prison and were clearly for onward supply. As a prison officer she was in a position of responsibility and her behaviour fell far below the standards that are expected. 

“The CPS continues to work closely with our law enforcement colleagues, in this case the Southern Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit, in the prosecution of offences such as this.  We have now begun steps to confiscate the proceeds of this crime.”