How smugglers use Instagram to sell devices and drugs into jails

Convicts can secretly communicate with the criminal underworld from their cells via internet receivers hidden inside alarm clocks, beard trimmers and fans.

Newsquest has learned that the smuggling ring is under investigation by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and at least one police force.

The smugglers posted videos online of their gadgets being used inside prison cells, to prove their credentials.

The crooks also smuggle the addictive, mind-altering drug ‘spice’ into prisons, disguised as privileged legal correspondence.

Retired organised crime detective Dave McKelvey said: “The embarrassment your story could cause the prison service and the police is incalculable.

“You could have criminals organising gangland hits, assassinations, kidnappings from inside prison cells.

“It’s like a real-life Italian Job, where the crime boss Mr Bridger authorises the heist from inside the prison.”

Instagram shut down the account after the MOJ and police began investigating.

But the smugglers just created a new account with a near-identical username and resumed their business.

The first message ever posted by the 'Trick A Screw' account (Image: Instagram)

“Trick A Screw”

The smugglers boast online of their ability to sneak contraband past prison staff.

They even call their criminal enterprise “Trick A Screw”.

Their Instagram page had been in operation for two-and-a-half years by the time the MOJ cottoned on.

The organisers never share their identities but wrote, “There is a couple of us on here so we need to keep track of orders and payments via messages etc.”

“We are here to trick a screw to trick the system,” they said. “To make you anything to get into jail discretely and live a better lifestyle in jail.

“Can source most things so if you can’t see it still ask and we will see what we can do to hook you up.”

They bragged of offering "quality work and customer service", posting photos of parcels piled up, waiting to be sent. 

The smugglers boasted of doing a roaring trade, posting a photo of parcels stacked up, ready for posting (Image: Instagram)

Hidden Connections

The gang hides wi-fi connectors (dongles) inside seemingly mundane items, allowing crooks to secretly contact the outside world while locked in their cells.

Videos shot inside cells showed lags plugging manipulated alarm clocks into televisions, which turns them into smart TVs capable of accessing communication services like WhatsApp and Instagram.

Gadgets advertised included: alarm clocks with wi-fi for £350; beard clippers with wi-fi for £400; a DVD player with wi-fi for £1,200; a stereo with wi-fi and a camera for £1,500; and an “Xbox One inside stereo plus android & dongle” for £2,000.

“Previous wi-fi clippers were light,” they advertised last year. “Now have added weight to be more realistic.”

The 'Trick A Screw' account defended the prices is charged for its manipulated gadgets with internet receivers hidden inside (Image: Instagram)

Defending their prices, the gang wrote: “A phone in jail costs 1k to 2k sometimes more… You could lose that phone the same or next day in a spin.”

A spin is when prison officers search a cell.

“Buying a player or a stereo can last much longer than a phone and you can casually use it all day,” they continued.

“The price of items cant [SIC] be said as expensive… not only that, all my stuff is built properly and I use all stickers to conceal it ect [SIC].”

The smugglers told customers they had added extra weight to their wi-fi beard trimmers, to make them less suspicious (Image: Instagram)

‘The Perfect Alibi’

“The risks are huge,” said Dave McKelvey, a retired Met Police detective who spent 20 years busting organised crime gangs, securing over 60 commendations.

“In this day and age, organised crime operates through smart phones and devices,” he said.

“If people are smuggling in these devices, it gives criminals the capability to continue their criminality from prison.

“You have a situation where they are not only potentially continuing to offend, but they also have the perfect alibi. Their get out of jail free card is literally, ‘I was locked up in jail at the time’.

“Organised crime and criminals adapt to circumstances and quite often law enforcement are months or years behind what’s really going on, so you’re forever playing catch-up.”

Retired Met Police organised crime detective Dave McKelvey, who has appeared on Sky, Channel 5 and Talk TV, said the revelations had the potential to cause 'incalculable' embarrassment to the authorities (Image: TM Eye)

‘Genius’ drug smuggling

The group also sells “spice sheets” for £30 each or £100 for four.

Sheets of paper are soaked in the drug and then dried. They can then be smoked.

The highly-addictive drug, also known as Black Mamba, can cause extreme, unpredictable behaviour and psychosis.

According to Middlesex University London, spice was implicated in almost half of unnatural deaths in English and Welsh prisons between 2015 and 2020.

“Cant get cheaper or fairer elsewhere,” Trick A Screw advertised. “You want them double dipped then pay double the price.”

Messages posted by 'Trick A Screw' about smuggling spice sheets into prisons, disguised as Rule 39 legal correspondence (Image: Instagram)

They claimed to be able to sneak in up to 50 sheets at a time alongside electrical items, or mail the sheets in disguised as privileged legal correspondence.

Under what’s known as Rule 39, prisoners are entitled to receive legal correspondence, which can only be intercepted if the prison has reason to believe it is fake or poses a security risk.

“Of [SIC] you order r39s then once posted and I have shown you the pic then there is no need to message me daily,” one of the gang wrote.

“Learn some patience, once I post it then its out of my hands!”

“There’s a bit of genius in there,” said Mr McKelvey. “They’re using supposedly legally privileged material that can’t be intercepted. You would almost need a law change to prevent it.”

A 'proof video' shared by the smugglers showed somebody using their alarm clock, with a secret wi-fi receiver inside, to access WhatsApp and send disappearing messages (Image: Instagram)

‘No proactivity’

Newsquest has learned the gang is under investigation by the MOJ's Digital Media Investigation Unit.

“We do not tolerate drugs and mobile phones in prison and those found with them face extra time behind bars,” the prison service said, adding that it had blocked over 46,000 smuggling attempts.

Instagram, which blocked the smugglers' original account shortly after the MOJ investigation was launched, declined to comment. 

But the smugglers are already back online as “Trick A Screw 2”.

Investigators found they even shared an email from Instagram about their old account being blocked, to prove to customers that they are the same outfit.

Another 'proof video' showed somebody accessing Instagram inside a prison cell, using one of 'Trick A Screw's devices (Image: Instagram)

“We see this on a daily basis,” said Mr McKelvey, who now runs private investigation firm TM Eye.

“We deal with lots of websites selling counterfeit pharmaceuticals. They get taken down and literally within hours they’re back up and running again.

“There seems to be no proactivity by the social media companies or even law enforcement to actually tackle these problems.

“There’s no point simply taking things down. You’ve got to identify the culprits, identify the offences they’ve committed and prosecute them. That’s the only way you’re going to resolve this issue.”