Overview
- More than 500 mobile phones, electronic devices and SIM cards were seized from inmates at HMP Manchester and have been destroyed.
- GMP says the action forms part of Operation Sheriff, a multi-agency crackdown on the movement of drugs, weapons and other contraband into prisons.
- Detective Sergeant Carla Dalton said confiscating phones delivers a blow to organised crime by disrupting arrangements for drug deals, weapon drops and violent attacks.
- Possessing electronic devices in custody is an offence under the Prison Act 1952 and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, with offenders potentially facing extra time.
- One outlet reports the haul was accumulated over about 18 months starting in 2024, a timeline not directly confirmed in police statements.