Day-release prisoner smuggled drugs into jail planted in Leeds sports club toilets

Riley Williams retrieved the cannabis hidden in a public toilet and then tried to bring them into the Young Offender Institute Wetherby, but the pungent smell gave him away to officers.

The 19-year-old, who has since been released from custody, was handed a new jail sentence this week at Leeds Crown Court after the judge said it was too serious for any other punishment.

Williams, of Bushmoor Walk, Manchester, had been nearing the end of his sentence in the autumn of 2023, the court heard. He has convictions for robbery and offensive weapons.

He was permitted for day release, working in the community to prepare for life after prison. Working as a gardener in the Boston Spa area, he was supervised by an officer for each outing and searched every time he left the prison and again on his return.

Williams and the officer regularly ate lunch at Wetherby Sports Association, and on November 1, 2023 they did again, and Williams asked to use the toilet.

He emerged a short time later and was returned to prison for around 3pm.

But the distinctive smell of cannabis aroused officers’ suspicions and they found a bag of cannabis mixed with tobacco in the waistband of his trousers. The bag weighed around 45 grammes.

Following a subsequent investigation, it was found that suspicious people had been hanging around the Lodge Lane sports club that day, arriving in a black Peugeot.

They were seen loitering, before using the toilet. It was inferred that they had communicated with Williams and planted the drugs for him.

Williams was interviewed on December 12, 2023 and refused to answer questions.

He later admitted a charge of illegally conveying an article into a prison.

Mitigating, Adrian Pollard said Williams was “under no illusions” to the seriousness of the offence, but he had got his life back on track since being released and was making progress.

He said he suffers with ADHD and PTSD.

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Judge Andrew Stubbs KC admitted he was impressed by Williams’ progress, but told him: “You must have known how serious it was to take drugs into a prison.

“The fact you are a serving prisoner makes it more serious.”

He told him that jail was unavoidable, and gave him a 12-month sentence.