Lithgow prison switches off mobile phone jammers introduced against Bassam Hamzy

Two years after undergoing a $3.7m taxpayer-funded upgrade, a mobile phone shield introduced to combat crimes like Bassam Hamzy’s drug ring has been turned off.

Phone jammers introduced into Lithgow Prison after notorious gang boss Bassam Hamzy managed to run a drug ring from inside his cell using a mobile have been turned off, it can be revealed.

Hamzy’s phone was used to make more than 19,000 calls from inside the prison across May and June of 2008 – an average of 460 phone calls each day – many of which he used to co-ordinate the multimillion-dollar drug ring.

It led to the introduction of the phone jamming technology at the Lithgow Correctional Centre in 2013, blocking any signal being received by any mobile device in or even close by the prison.

That was followed by the use of the same technology at Goulburn’s Supermax Jail in 2018.

But despite undergoing a $3.7m taxpayer-funded upgrade just two years ago, Corrective Services NSW confirmed the technology has now been switched off at Lithgow, as part of a trial to determine whether it is still required with inmates now having access to iPads in their cells.

Phone jammers were introduced after gang boss Bassam Hamzy’s drug ring was revealed.

“CSNSW is pausing phone jamming technology at Lithgow Correctional Centre for six months, while we monitor the centre and review how the introduction of in-cell inmate tablets has impacted the demand for illegal phones,” a Corrective Services NSW spokesperson said.

“We will also review whether phone jamming continues to be the most cost-effective contraband management tool at this location.

“In-cell tablets allow inmates to call their loved ones after lock-in, when they wouldn’t traditionally have access to phones to connect with friends and family.

“Phone jamming technology will continue to be used at Goulburn Correctional Complex.”

The smuggling of mobile phones into NSW prisons has long been a major issue, initially for their use in co-ordinating crime or threatening witnesses on the outside.

But in recent times inmates have used smuggled mobile phones to gather large followings on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

Lithgow Correctional Centre.

It recently led Correctives Services NSW to launch an investigation into one inmate, Kyle Richardson, who amassed more than 11,000 followers online and called himself the “Prince of Parklea” Prison.

“Corrective Services NSW takes a zero-tolerance approach to contraband and continually investigates new mobile phone detection technologies or methods to prevent contraband from entering NSW prisons,” the spokesperson said.

“In 2020, we introduced X-Ray scanners at maximum security centres throughout the state, significantly reducing the opportunity for inmates to introduce contraband upon entry to prison or following visits.

“Other methods we currently use to combat contraband include phone-detection K9s, scanning devices, intelligence-based searches and phone jamming.”