UK jail officer ‘duped’ into ‘sham romance’ by love-bombing lag is sentenced
A prison officer who was “duped” into a “sham romance” with a convicted rapist inmate attempted to smuggle drugs worth tens of thousands of pounds into jail for him and his cellmate.
Hannah Angwaba, 30, a “relatively new” and “very inexperienced” officer, was “exploited” by Anton McPherson, 34, who “love bombed” her in a bid to win her affection shortly after she started working at HMP Forest Bank, according to court proceedings.
She was then apprehended with a package containing cocaine, cannabis, miniature mobile phones, and tobacco concealed in the braids of her hair as she arrived for an afternoon shift at the Salford, Greater Manchester, jail. The court heard that she had discovered the previous night that the relationship was not genuine, and that McPherson had a girlfriend on the outside.
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Despite this, she still agreed to bring in the contraband after being “pressured and persuaded” by Julius Marshall, 33, with whom she is also said to have formed a “friendship” and had “inappropriate” contact, reports the Manchester Evening News.
She later confessed to bringing in several more packages and receiving payment for some of them. She has now been jailed, with Marshall and McPherson also given lengthy prison sentences.
Angwaba began working at Forest Bank in December 2019 after completing her training, with McPherson and Marshall sharing a cell at this time.
(Image: Men Media)
Angwaba reportedly began what she thought was a relationship with McPherson, a self-proclaimed “pretty boy” who was later sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2020 for raping a woman twice after a New Year’s Eve bash in Tameside in January 2019.
Phone logs revealed that from Christmas Eve 2019, Angwaba had also been messaging Marshall. Due to her over-familiarity with the two inmates, she became the subject of intelligence reports within the prison, Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
As a result, their cell was searched in January 2020. Officers discovered a Zanco-style mini mobile phone, a USB charger part, several SIM cards wrapped in cling film, and a piece of paper with Angwaba’s bank details on it.
A professional standards meeting was arranged for January 22, 2020, and upon her arrival for her shift that day, Angwaba was pulled aside by the senior anti-corruption officer at the prison.
(Image: Men Media)
During the meeting, and “realising the game was up”, Angwaba confessed to having a package of contraband in her hair, the court heard.
The package contained two small mobile phones, a charging cable, two SIM cards, two USB memory sticks, two wraps of cocaine in cling film, five wraps of cannabis in cling film, two wraps of tobacco in cling film, and cigarette papers.
McPherson, of no fixed abode, was given a five-year term which will run consecutively to his current sentence. Meanwhile, Marshall, from Crosby in Liverpool, who has a previous conviction for possession with intent to supply heroin, was handed a seven-year sentence.
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