The likes of “Spice” or “Black Mamba” is being smuggled into UK prisons with drones.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy (Image: PA)
Justice Secretary David Lammy faces a critical mid-January deadline to outline robust measures for stopping drones smuggling deadly drugs into prisons. The mandate follows a coroner’s stark warning issued after the death of 29-year-old inmate Derrion Adams at HMP Birmingham — a case that has come to symbolise the systemic failure to secure prison perimeters.
Adams died on October 31, 2024 from cardiac arrest triggered by complications from using synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as “Spice” or “Black Mamba”. The substances were inhaled via a tampered vape found in his cell. Following a November 2025 inquest, Area Coroner Emma Brown issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report, stating that drugs delivered by drones have made such substances so widely available that they constitute a permanent “risk to life.”
HMP Birmingham (Image: BPM Media)
The inquest painted a harrowing picture of a facility under siege. Ms Brown highlighted how sophisticated criminal gangs have consistently outwitted prison security, with prison officials candidly admitting that organised crime groups were “more sophisticated than us.”
On the day Adams died, HMP Birmingham was descending into chaos amid a localised surge in drug overdoses. The staffing levels were so depleted that a single officer was left to lock up 60 inmates alone while colleagues scrambled to handle multiple medical emergencies.
This chronic understaffing led to a fatal delay in responding to Adams’ emergency cell bell. By the time help arrived, his cardiac arrest was advanced.
Ms Brown’s report criticised these staffing levels as wholly inadequate for the “escalating operational pressures” caused by drone-delivered contraband and the resulting spike in psychoactive substance incidents. She concluded that the current environment puts both prisoner and staff safety “at significant risk.”
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is now legally required to respond by January 13, 2026, detailing specific actions taken to mitigate these risks or providing a formal explanation for inaction. While the MoJ points to a £40million investment in security — including £10million specifically for anti-drone technology, window grilles, and perimeter netting — the “arms race” continues.
Since January 2024, restricted fly zones have been enforced around closed prisons, yet drone pilots have adapted by flying at higher altitudes or using encrypted signals to bypass local jamming.
Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor has echoed these concerns, warning that the prison service has effectively “ceded the airspace” to serious organised crime. This loss of control fuels a cycle of violence, debt, and addiction that makes rehabilitation nearly impossible.
Derrion Adams, described by his family as a “sensitive soul,” had a history of substance misuse and had been in custody since April 2024. His death underscores a persistent national crisis where drones act as a digital “silk road” into the UK’s most secure institutions.
Ms Brown emphasised that only a multi-agency response involving police, healthcare, and the prison service can halt the supply and manage the inevitable overdoses. Without urgent, top-down intervention from the Justice Secretary, she warned, more deaths are a certainty.
