Three members of a drugs gang that included a serving police officer who used drones to fly drugs, blades, and phones into prisons were jailed today for a total of 19 years and three months. The conspiracy saw Staffordshire detective constable Clare Davenport and her husband Peter King oversee the delivery of goods estimated to be worth over £1 million to prisoners at jails across the Midlands.
While King, 53, was jailed for six years and six months for his role in the operation, a judge deferred sentencing on his wife to give himself more time to consider her sentence. The couple, now estranged, along with their two accomplices—career criminal Mervyn Foster and former drug counsellor-turned-drone pilot Kent George—sent a total of 27 packages into prisons over an eight-month period.
Foster, who was on licence after serving time for previously smuggling illicit goods into prison, was jailed for seven years and three months at Wolverhampton Crown Court. George, with 34 previous convictions for 89 offences dating back to 2002, received a sentence of five years and six months. Davenport, 52, a former 'Officer of the Year' at her force, will be sentenced next week.
Judge Richard Bond told her: 'The aggravating factors in your case are absolutely obvious and deserve an immediate custodial sentence. Do not think this means that you are not going to be given a custodial sentence or that I am doing this for you. It is not for you, it is for your young children and because I need to reflect upon that.' Earlier, Judge Bond referred to the harm caused to prison life by those smuggling in drugs, mobile phones, and blades. He said, 'Drugs end up being traded for highly inflated amounts and prisoners become indebted to other prisoners.' He accused all four defendants as being motivated by 'greed'.
During the two-day sentencing hearing, the court heard that Davenport and King's criminal spree brought them a luxury lifestyle of expensive holidays, private education for their daughter, and IVF treatment to realise Davenport's dream of a fourth child. The child was conceived as Davenport, who longed for a Rolex watch and Dior pram according to messages, awaited trial.
A trial last year heard that Davenport and her husband worked 'in tandem to make as much money as possible' by dropping parcels of contraband into high-security prisons between 2021 and 2022. King, a former Princes' Trust mentor, was the mastermind of the operation, having set up a legitimate company called Drone Shop. Several drops were made by drone into the grounds of HMP Onley, a Category C prison near Rugby in Warwickshire.
Prosecutor John Hallissey told the court that King pre-programmed the drones so he could stay far away from the action at his £800,000 family home. After taking orders from prisoners and delivery of their drug orders from their contacts, King packed sausage-shaped parcels—slim enough to slip through prison bars—in his garden workshop. Other consignments were covered with astroturf and dropped onto prison playing fields.
Foster, 46, and George, 63, were employed to drive the drones close to the prisons, including HMP Gartree in Leicestershire and HMP Onley in Warwickshire, and bring them back once the drops were completed. During 2021 and 2022, prison authorities recovered 12 of the 27 parcels and found goods inside worth over half a million pounds in prison currency. The recovered parcels included Class A drugs including cocaine, heroin, and 82 Ecstasy tablets. Other drugs included three kilos of cannabis and tobacco, 367 heroin substitute tablets, and 135 grams of zombie-drug Spice, which was 'impregnated into paper sheets'. Also flown in were dozens of mobile phones and sim cards, headphones, memory cards, and surgical blades.
King, a New Zealander, was described as 'intelligent, capable and industrious' by his defence barrister Sonal Dashani KC. His 'revolutionary' and entirely 'legitimate' drone business had helped the RNLI identify those lost at sea. His wife had served for almost 30 years as a detective in the Staffordshire force and in 2023 had won its 'Officer of the Year' award. This was rescinded a few months later when the force became aware of her extra-curricular activities. She was suspended when 'really racist' text messages from Davenport to Foster were unearthed as part of the investigation into the drug smuggling conspiracy. Colleagues also discovered she had arranged for her husband to call in sick for her while she was out of the country receiving IVF treatment. Davenport retired in April 2023 before an internal inquiry recommended her dismissal.
In mitigation, her barrister Sarah Allen said she had a 'deep desire to have another child' and had suffered a number of miscarriages before finally falling pregnant while awaiting trial. Asking for a suspended sentence, she said Davenport was sole carer for two children under the age of ten. Judge Bond intervened to say, 'She undertook IVF after she had been charged. She knew she was guilty and yet she chose to have a child. She put herself in that position.' The trial heard that her guilt was established by text messages she had exchanged with her co-defendants. On September 16 2021, King text her saying, 'I should be doing Oak tonight' in reference to HMP Oakwood. Davenport replied, 'It is so good you are earning.' In another exchange, Davenport expressed concern that her police pension could be imperilled by their conspiracy. King wrote, 'Big bucks are coming baby,' to which the officer replied, 'As long as it’s safe. I have pension tension.' He then sent a photo of bundles of £20 notes laid out on bedding and she replied, 'Oh my days, amazing. Thinking I need a Rolex, a Dior pram and other Dior stuff.'
The investigation revealed that £16,654 had been paid into Davenport’s account from prison sources; King had received £36,657 and Foster and George over £20,000 between them. But Mr Hallissey said the gang made clear they preferred to be paid in cash and King had messaged his wife to say, 'Put (our daughter) back into private school. Money is not an issue anymore.' Mitigating for King, Ms Dashani KC said the couple had been facing 'financial struggles' due to paying for IVF treatment. But neighbours in Coven, near Wolverhampton, told the Daily Mail how the pair appeared to 'lap up a life of luxury', enjoying overseas holidays, a fleet of luxury cars, and visits to fancy restaurants.
King pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy to convey banned items into prison and acquiring criminal property on the first day of the trial last August. The next day, Davenport pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to acquire criminal property. Foster, from Sandwell, West Midlands, claimed he had been coerced into joining by threats from Davenport. But he was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to convey banned items into prison and acquiring criminal property. The court heard Foster had 34 previous convictions for 89 offences dating back to 2002. George, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was convicted of the same three counts. He had 19 convictions, mostly for petty offending such as drug possession.
