Welcome to a whirlwind tour of 10 bizarre cases of prison smuggling, where ingenuity meets desperation behind bars. From feathered couriers to covert syringes, each story shows just how far inmates will go to get contraband into or out of correctional facilities.
10 Bizarre Cases of Prison Smuggling Unveiled
10 Pigeon Phone
In February 2017 guards at a penitentiary in São Paulo’s Franco da Rocha caught a pigeon that was literally strapped with a mobile phone and a battery. The bird was spotted when an inmate tried to snatch it, prompting staff to intervene and discover a tiny pouch clinging to the bird’s body. Officials could not determine who the device was meant for, but the incident highlighted just how creative smugglers can be.
This wasn’t an isolated stunt. Back in September 2016 Colombian prison staff intercepted a pigeon hauling a phone and a USB stick, and in 2015 Costa Rican authorities nabbed a pigeon loaded with 14 grams each of cocaine and marijuana, all tucked into a small pouch. Over the years, prisoners have also turned to cats, iguanas and other unlikely animals to ferry drugs into high‑security facilities.
9 Palestinian Prison Paternity
In 2013 West Bank fertility clinics announced a startling revelation: ten Palestinian women became pregnant thanks to sperm that had been smuggled out of Israeli prisons. “I don’t know how they do it, and I don’t want to know,” said Dr. Salem Abu Kahizaran, who explained that the genetic material traveled in bottles, plastic cups and other makeshift containers. Sperm can survive up to 48 hours under ideal conditions, but many of the samples arrived non‑viable.
Because men convicted of “security offenses” are denied conjugal visits, the clinics focus on childless wives whose husbands are serving lengthy solitary terms. The process requires signatures from two family members on each side before fertilization can occur. Women were encouraged to spread the word about the practice, allowing them to avoid gossip and the stigma that might arise from a seemingly miraculous pregnancy while their spouses remain behind bars.
8 Drone Drop Off
February 2016 saw the BBC report a sharp rise in drone‑delivered contraband. The number of incidents leapt from zero in 2013 to 35 in 2015, with 19 of those drones recovered. Six of the recovered drones carried drugs and more than eight contained mobile phones. The Ministry of Justice also listed five “unknown packages” that officials suspect were drone‑related, though the contents remain a mystery.
To combat the aerial menace, companies like Dedrone have rolled out DroneTracker, a system that can spot drones up to 5,010 metres (16,440 ft) away. Some propose jamming the radio frequencies, though jammers are illegal without special permission. Researchers at Michigan Technological University even built a net‑firing drone to snag rogue aircraft, while the Dutch National Police Agency has taken a more primal approach by training eagles to hunt illegal drones.
7 Fifty Shades Of Misconduct
On November 4, 2014 a British nurse admitted to smuggling a copy of the steamy novel Fifty Shades of Grey to her inmate lover. Kimberly Hinde, a substance‑abuse nurse at HMP Wealstun, had forged a secret relationship with prisoner Lee Stephenson, spending long “consultation” sessions with him. After each meeting she appeared visibly flustered, and a search of Stephenson’s cell uncovered a copy of the book and a series of flirtatious letters.
Initially denying any wrongdoing, Hinde eventually pled guilty to misconduct in a public office. The court noted that while the affair was “overly familiar,” there was no evidence of sexual activity. She received a nine‑month suspended sentence, 200 hours of unpaid work, and was later caught continuing the relationship, even using an alias in her correspondence to avoid detection.
6 Sub Smuggling
January 2017 saw a Florida probation officer, Jerilyn Harris, arrested after she arranged a meeting with inmate Tarvell Douglas under the guise of a hearing. Corrections staff grew suspicious, and an X‑ray of Douglas’s uniform revealed a Publix Italian sub, several pastries and candy concealed inside his clothing.
That same month, a former Chicago police dispatch supervisor became the fifth person charged in a sandwich‑smuggling ring that funneled tobacco, marijuana and alcohol into Cook County Jail. Jason Marek admitted to delivering the contraband, while co‑conspirator Stephanie Lewis testified that her inmate boyfriend Prince Johnson threatened him with personal information if he tried to stop the deliveries.
5 Suitcase Stowaway
In January 2017 a Venezuelan mother, Antoineta Robles Saouda, attempted to smuggle her lover out of Jose Antonio Anzoategui prison by squeezing him into a hot‑pink suitcase. Saouda arrived with her six‑year‑old daughter, hoping to wheel the oversized luggage past the guards. When she struggled with the overpacked case, officers searched it and discovered the 25‑year‑old convict twisted inside, accompanied by his daughter’s toys.
Guards arrested Saouda, placed the child in temporary care, and forced the inmate to climb back into the suitcase for a photo‑op before returning him to his cell. Family visits and overnight stays are common in many Latin‑American prisons, and Saouda’s plan exploited that loophole. Legal proceedings against her remain ongoing.
4 Sperm Syringe
In January 2017 a British prison officer, Alison Sharples, was sentenced to nine months for smuggling the semen of convicted kidnapper Marvin Berkeley out of HMP Garth. A routine search of Sharples’s handbag uncovered a syringe packed with the seed, and investigators also found a letter from Berkeley hidden in her underwear drawer.
The court learned that Sharples had become “besotted” with the inmate, receiving the semen through a tiny opening under the cell door and planning to use a Calpol syringe like a turkey baster. When the affair surfaced on October 23, 2014, Berkeley was only weeks from parole. DNA testing later suggested the sperm could belong to either Marvin or his twin brother Michael, who was incarcerated elsewhere, making the donor’s identity clear.
3 Horror Footage
In February 2017 a secret video was smuggled out of Cameroon’s overcrowded Yaoundé prison and sent anonymously to France 24. Filmed between January 21 and 30, the footage exposed the horrific conditions of Units 8 and 9, colloquially dubbed “Kosovo.” The 2,800‑plus inmates, mostly low‑income thieves, live without proper beds, forced to sleep on the floor, while the prison, built for 1,000, now houses roughly 5,000.
Food rations amount to a half‑bowl per person per day, and three toilets serve over a thousand prisoners in Unit 8. Many inmates relieve themselves wherever they can, and those who cannot pay bribes remain chained at the ankles for weeks, sometimes years. The documentary painted a stark picture of neglect and desperation inside the facility.
2 Keistered Cell Phone
On February 4, 2016 inmate Stephen Cavanagh complained of severe abdominal pain at HMP Manchester. Staff rushed him to the medical wing, suspecting gallstones, and performed an X‑ray. The scan revealed a mobile phone lodged in his rectum, prompting officers to move him to segregation where he was forced to pass the device.
In the United States, correctional officers seized 4,200 phones in 2013—averaging 11 a day. Inmates employ diapers, soup packets, beverage bottles and corrupt guards to sneak phones inside. These devices enable escape planning, intimidation and the continuation of criminal enterprises from behind bars. Notably, two convicted murderers who escaped a Florida panhandle prison left a phone behind, and notorious killer Charles Mason has been caught with phones hidden under his mattress on multiple occasions.
1 Steroid Racket
On November 14, 2015 a corrections officer named Matthew Taylor was sentenced to a year and nine months for conspiring to smuggle anabolic steroids into HMP Oakwood, a British prison. A former Royal Marine, Taylor teamed up with career criminal Michael Clarke, who acted as the liaison between his outside partner Donna Duffus and the inmate. Although the actual shipment never took place—Taylor got cold feet and demanded a larger payment—authorities recorded his phone calls with Duffus, sealing the case.
Taylor pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and conspiracy to supply a prohibited article, while Clarke received a 30‑month term and Duffus a 12‑month community order for purchasing steroids online. Taylor’s earlier smuggling activities included a £300 deal involving creatine. While exact usage rates remain unknown, many speculate that steroids are rampant in prisons, where physical dominance often translates to power.
In an unrelated note, Geordie McElroy—dubbed the “Indiana Jones of ethnomusicology” by TimeOut.com—has tracked down rare songs for the Smithsonian, Sony Music Group and private collectors, and also fronts the LA‑based band Blackwater Jukebox.