A young man has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after a failed attempt to smuggle drugs into HMP Liverpool. Reece Abbott, aged 20, was caught with a concealed package containing cocaine, cannabis and tobacco during a visit to the prison in September last year. The package fell from his trouser leg after he triggered a metal detector at the entrance. Prior to the incident, Abbott had texted a friend saying, “It’ll be sweet,” and prophetically added, “If you don’t hear from me, you know why.”
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Liverpool Crown Court heard that Abbott, of Porter Avenue in Newton-le-Willows, had been coerced into smuggling the drugs due to threats from a known figure linked to a £300 drug debt. The court was told that a man had threatened to return to his grandmother’s flat if the debt was not paid. Abbott, who was 19 at the time, had a previous conviction from April 2024 for dangerous driving and drug-related offences, for which he received a suspended sentence.
Defending counsel Stella Hayden described Abbott as a vulnerable young man, exploited due to his immaturity and difficult upbringing. The court was told he had experienced an unstable childhood, witnessing and being subjected to domestic violence. Ms Hayden asked the judge to consider these mitigating factors and to impose the shortest possible custodial sentence, emphasising that this would be his first time in prison.
Despite these appeals, Judge Stuart Driver KC noted the seriousness of the offence, highlighting the quantity of drugs and the likelihood they were intended for wider distribution within the prison. He also pointed out Abbott’s recent history with the courts and the breach of his suspended sentence. Before being led away, Abbott exchanged handshakes and fist bumps with supporters in the public gallery, with one calling out, “Ring me lad.”
