A man from Manchester has been jailed for two years after being caught on camera hurling drugs packets over a prison fence.
Police have released footage that shows Michael Hopkins, 29, throwing the contraband into HMP Forest Bank in Pendleton, Salford.
GMP said that Hopkins went through the undergrowth that surrounds the prison and jumped the perimeter fence before launching two packages over the prison wall.
He was “swiftly detained and arrested” by officers who were stationed nearby and being fed information from the prison’s internal CCTV system.
#JAIL | A man has been jailed for over two years after throwing contraband into HMP #Forest Bank
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) July 2, 2021
384g of tobacco, 12.2g of cannabis and five A4 pages of psychoactive substance laced paper – “worth up to several thousand pounds inside of prison” according to GMP – were recovered from the packages.
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Hopkins claimed he did not know the contents and had been told to throw the items by a man who he refused to name.
Hopkins was sentenced last week at Minshull Street Crown Court – receiving two years in jail after pleading guilty to one count of attempting to convey contraband into a prison and two counts of conveying contraband into a prison.
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He was also sentenced to nine months for now-activated suspended sentences in relation to handling stolen goods and dangerous driving.
Michael Hopkins was sentenced for two years for throwing contraband into HMP Forest Bank / Image: GMP
Detective Sergeant Andrew Vizard, of GMP’s Serious Crime Division, said that contraband was a “big problem inside prisons”.
“Any drugs entering the prison system can lead to further crimes being committed by inmates and pose a serious risk to the safety of prison staff,” he stated.
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Matt Spencer, Director at HMP Forest Bank said: “This arrest and conviction shows that partnership working across criminal justice organisations in Greater Manchester is strong.
“Smuggling contraband into our prisons greatly increases levels of debt, violence and intimidation and will not be tolerated.”
News
How will the Government’s new digital ID alternative for alcohol sales work?
Emily Sergeant
All licensed venues across England and Wales now have the choice to introduce digital proof of age for alcohol sales alongside physical.
Instead of having to hand over physical ID that contains personal information, such as names and home addresses, customers now have the choice to simply provide confirmation that they are 18 or over on their phone – helping to better protect privacy and personal safety in the process.
This means that, no matter whether you’re buying a drink at your favourite pub, heading to a festival, or enjoying a night out at a concert, you won’t need to worry if you’ve left your ID at home.
According to the Government, this new change will benefit businesses greatly too, as certified digital services are able to check that an ID is genuine and belongs to the person presenting it much easier than the alternative can, which therefore helps to reduce the risk of any fake or borrowed IDs going undetected.
Well, according to the Government, it could be as simple as a customer showing a QR code for staff to scan, or tapping their phone against a compatible reader, where staff will then receive a clear confirmation on their device that the customer has passed the age check.
This change follows a 2024 Government consultation where it was reported that 72% of respondents supported the use of digital identities for age verification when buying alcohol.
Digital Government Minister Stephanie Peacock reiterated that ‘it will remain an individual or business’ choice whether to use or adopt [digital ID]’ and that physical ID will ‘still remain a valid way’ for customers to prove their age.
“This groundbreaking change in the law will mean you do not need to carry a physical ID, nor hand over sensitive personal information such as your name or address just to prove your age, allowing everyone to feel safer on a night out,” she concluded.
Featured Image – Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
News
Manchester to host G20 Summit in 2027 with more than a dozen world leaders descending on the city
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed as the host city for the G20 Summit next year.
It was already announced back in November last year that the G20 Summit would be coming to the UK in 2027, and plans were apparently already being discussed to host it in Manchester even before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister and Number 10 North was set up.
But now, ahead of this year’s leaders’ summit being held in Miami in December, it has been confirmed that the G20 Summit will arrive in Manchester in November 2027.
Manchester is said to have been picked to host the leaders’ summit because of its ‘cultural heritage’.
Bringing together 19 of the world’s largest economies and two major multilateral bodies – the European Union and the African union – G20 members who will be invited to attend the summit next year make up 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population as a whole.
Manchester has been confirmed to host the G20 Summit in 2027 / Credit: 10 Downing Street | Paul Kagame (Flickr)
G20 members are also some of the UK’s closest economic partners, the Government insists.
17 of the UK’s top 20 global export markets attend the summit, as do 18 of the UK’s top 20 sources of foreign direct investment.
The presidency of the G20 is currently held by the US but will pass to the UK after the leaders’ summit hosted by the president at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in December.
The 2027 summit will be held at Manchester Central, it has been confirmed, and other locations across the UK will also host other G20 events as part of the year-long presidency, but these are yet to be announced.
The Manc -
5th July 2021 
