Jade Thompson sentenced after attempt to smuggle drugs into Cessnock Jail in tennis ball
Drug addict Jade Thompson had “gone off the rails” when he attempted to fling a drug-filled tennis ball over the walls of Cessnock Jail. But his plan was thwarted when he was caught by prison security.
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A Lake Macquarie man who made an attempt to throw a tennis ball full of heroin and meth over the walls of Cessnock jail, before he was caught by prison security, has been jailed for more than two years.
The court heard Jade Allan Thompson, 31, from Wallsend was a drug addict and used a “degree of planning” to get the drugs to inmates inside the correctional facility on May 31.
Court documents stated Mr Thompson and another unknown person rode a stolen Yamaha motorbike to the western side of the jail — adjacent to the holding yards — before they were spotted by prison security.
Their escape was thwarted when their getaway bike crashed into a tree. Mr Thompson was apprehended by security officers before police arrived, while the unknown person fled into nearby bushland.
The 31-year-old was found holding a tennis ball with electrical tape wrapped around it and the letter ‘S’ drawn on it. A small clear plastic bag containing meth was also laying beside the crashed motorbike.
On inspection, the tennis ball had a number of small sealed packages inside containing nearly 8 grams of heroin, 14 grams of meth, over six grams of Buprenorphine and 5 grams of an unknown orange substance.
Mr Thompson pleaded guilty to seven charges which included the possession and supply of drugs, attempting to bring a prohibited drug into a place of detention and unlawful entry of inclosed lands.
In Cessnock Local Court on Wednesday, Thompson’s solicitor said his client had been caught up in an ice addiction for a number of years, and had gone “off the rails”.
Magistrate Andrew Millar said the nature of the offending was serious, given he was also on parole at the time.
“Drugs in jail cause significant problems for those in the community and those that work at the jail,” Magistrate Millar said.
“It was a calculated and planned approach, there is need for punishment.
“People need to understand if they try to introduce drugs into correctional facilities, they should expect a lengthy custodial sentence.”
He was sentenced to 28 months behind bars, with a non-parole period of 16 months and will be eligible for released in September 2021.
The error-riddled attempt has not been the only time a tennis ball has been used to smuggle drugs into the prison in a bid to bypass COVID-19 restrictions at the jail.
Just this weekend, a man was charged after prison officers at Cessnock jail also foiled an attempt to smuggle cannabis, tobacco and buprenorphine hidden within a tennis ball.
A day later a tip-off led prison officers to the alleged discovery of a drone which had drugs attached to it, meant for the prison. Three people were charged.