A woman used a drone to smuggle mobile phones and cannabis into HMP Peterborough, a court heard.  

Nicola Rigitha, 23, of Morland Court, Peterborough, used the technology to fly a package to a prisoner on June 25, 2021. 

Prison officers were alerted to the drone flying within the grounds and witnessed it approach a third-floor window where the occupant took it through a hole in his window. 

Inside his cell they found a football sock containing 10 miniature mobile phones, seven packs of cigarette papers, six packs of tobacco, cannabis and a Zanco mobile phone. 

They traced his phone calls from the prison and arrested Rigitha at her home. Inside they found a box for the Zanco mobile phone. 

The cannabis was thought to have a prison value of £5,800 and the tobacco worth £3,000. 

At Peterborough Crown Court on Friday (October 13), Rigitha, was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years. 

She admitted to conspiring to convey list A and B prohibited articles into prison. She must also carry out 150 hours unpaid work. 

PC Floyd Matthews, who investigated, said: “Conveying prohibited items into a prison will not be tolerated.  

“We work closely with colleagues at HMP Peterborough and we will continue to prevent further incidents of this nature taking place.”