Foreign
UK: Prison officers deal drugs and ask inmates for sex
Next to a vandalised wire fence opposite HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, 28-year-old Beatrice Auty brushes away tears. The memories of her time inside the jail are too much to bear.
She served more than a year here for money laundering, and claims she was sexually harassed by a male prison officer.
“He made me feel very uncomfortable,” Auty says. “He commented on my appearance – a lot. He suggested he wanted to come to my cell – I feel if I had been up for it, he would have wanted sexual favours.”
Auty says she reported what happened, and told us she’s spoken to other women who have had similar experiences with the same guard, who made “comments about their breasts” and “how he would want [oral sex] from them”.
With prisons across the country running out of cells and the government releasing offenders early to ease pressure, the BBC has been reporting on the issues facing a system on the brink of collapse.
There are 23,613 prison officers in England and Wales, looking after a prison population of 85,867 inmates.
A record 165 prison staff were sacked for misconduct in the year to June 2024, according to His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). That’s an increase of 34% on the previous year.
Some of the reasons for these dismissals include sex acts and other inappropriate behaviour with inmates, as well as selling drugs and phones – a lucrative trade inside prisons.
Auty describes prison as “a hopeless place” where some staff encourage bad behaviour rather than trying to eradicate it.
In 2023, Auty was convicted of smuggling millions of pounds of criminal cash from London to Dubai, and sentenced to 42 months in prison.
She served 14 months in HMP Bronzefield – the largest prison in Europe for female offenders – before being released on licence, meaning even though she’s been freed she must stick to a set of rules for the remainder of her sentence.
With her hands thrust firmly in her pockets, Auty describes how it was “not uncommon at all” to see prison staff in Bronzefield dealing.
“The drugs would often be transported on the food trollies and then distributed at the other end on the house blocks,” Auty says.
“On one hand you have a prison service that’s meant to be rule-abiding and strict and uphold British values, and in reality you have corrupt officers.”
In response to Auty’s claims, Sodexo, the private company that runs the prison, told the BBC it cannot comment on individual cases, but “where complaints are received about any employee, we undertake all appropriate investigations and take necessary actions as needed”.
Lee Davis was a prison officer from 2006 until 2010, during which time he regularly supplied cannabis, steroids and phones to inmates, getting paid £400-500 for every package he delivered.
After agreeing to take the first package, he describes a “snowball effect”.
“It then became two, and three,” he says, “then after package four it was purely about the money.”
Davis was eventually caught and served two years in prison. He’s since turned his life around and works as a bus driver in Lancaster now, but says much more could be done to stop other prison staff dealing inside.
“They’ve got to up the ante by searching officers going in,” Davis says. “I was searched twice in three years and that isn’t good – we need to stop it at the gates.”
Lee Davis was jailed after smuggling drugs and phones into the young offenders institute where he worked.8
A prison officer who doesn’t want to be identified who works in a different, government-run English jail, told us it’s unsurprising to hear about staff corruption.
She says everyone working in prisons knows drugs are being supplied by officers.
“They know how to fiddle the system – they know better than anyone how to get drugs and phones in – because they know the checks they’ve got to go through,” the woman says.
“Some [prison officers] are so young and inexperienced they easily get caught up in organised crime, with gangs inside sometimes putting pressure on them to supply all sorts.
“There’s a power dynamic, and prison officers can feel like they can do what they want – like asking for sex. They can make life difficult for those inside, and they know that.”
There have been several high profile cases this year which convey the problem of prison officer corruption.
Last month, former prison officer Richard Goss was jailed for four years after admitting to smuggling drugs, needles, and mobile phones into HMP Buckley Hall in Rochdale.
Another former officer, Linda De Sousa Abreu, was filmed having sex with an inmate in HMP Wandsworth in London. In July she was convicted of misconduct in a public office after the video went viral on social media.
Corruption inside prisons is now “a greater problem than it has ever been,” according to John Podmore, a former governor of several large prisons, including HMP Belmarsh and HMP Brixton, both in London. He oversaw the prison service’s Corruption Prevention Unit and the London Prison’s Anti-corruption Team.
“There is a perfect storm of young inexperienced staff with poor vetting and inadequate training being thrown into a dystopian environment,” Mr Podmore says, “where violence and organised crime dominate a failing prison system.”
He estimates the value of drugs traded across the prison estate each year is in excess of £1bn.
No specific qualifications are needed to become a prison officer in England and Wales.
On its website, HMPPS states new recruits will be given a 10-day induction, which includes finding out about prison life and being shown basic security processes.
This is followed by a seven-week training programme, during which trainees are taught how to look after people in custody and de-escalate challenging situations.
Mr Podmore describes this training as “totally inadequate”, and “the worst and shortest of any jurisdiction I have observed over five continents”.
“The vast majority of officers are corrupted as a result of conditioning, manipulation, coercion and blackmail, while being badly trained, poorly led and inadequately supervised,” he adds.
Source: BBC
The Nigerian community in the United States has been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of Eric Ezeokoli, a student of California State University, Long Beach.
Ezeokoli, who was born on October 6, 1960, reportedly died on Friday, April 11, 2026, at Saint Mary’s Hospital after a brief illness.
Until his death, he was studying Engineering at the university, also known as Long Beach State University. Sources disclosed that he had previously lived in San Jose before relocating to the Los Angeles area.
Tragically, at the time of his passing, Ezeokoli was said to be homeless and living in his car, with no fixed address.
The deceased was originally from Anambra State, although details about his exact hometown remain unclear. There are indications he may have hailed from Aguata, but this has not been officially confirmed.
Efforts are currently underway to locate his family members and relatives in Nigeria. Members of the Nigerian community and concerned individuals are appealing to anyone with useful information about Ezeokoli’s background or family to come forward.
A contact person, Paul Kizito Eze, has been designated to receive information that could help trace the deceased’s relatives.
The appeal has also been extended to people from Anambra State, particularly those familiar with communities in Aguata, to assist in identifying and notifying the family.
The situation has sparked renewed concern over the welfare of some Nigerians living abroad, especially those facing hardship and isolation.
Anyone with relevant information is urged to reach out urgently to assist in reconnecting the late Ezeokoli with his family for proper burial arrangements.
President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his threat to wreck Iran’s civilian infrastructure, warning US forces could destroy every bridge and power plant in the country within four hours and that a truce proposal from international mediators was not yet enough.
Five weeks into the Middle East war triggered by a joint US-Israeli air assault on Tehran, the US leader has demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping by midnight GMT on Tuesday, or face a newly devastating round of bombing.
Both Trump and Iran have said that a proposal touted by international mediators for a 45-day ceasefire is not yet ready, and in a Washington press conference, the US president dialled up his warlike rhetoric once again.
“We have a plan — because of the power of our military — where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,” Trump said.
Trump had earlier accepted the ceasefire plan was a “significant proposal”, but went on to say it was not good enough. Iranian state media quotes officials stating that Tehran too “has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the need for a definitive end to the conflict”.
Trump said intermediaries “are negotiating now” on improving the ceasefire proposal, which US media reported was being mediated by Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey.
Iran’s military said it would “continue the war as long as the political authorities see fit”.
Trump’s latest threats, including a profanity-laced social media post on Sunday, have sent shockwaves through the international community.
International Committee of the Red Cross chief Mirjana Spoljaric warned that “deliberate threats… against essential civilian infrastructure” are illegal.
But talk of a ceasefire came as the US and Israel were striking targets across Iran, including major petrochemical facilities, and as Iran continued missile and drone attacks around the region.
Iran’s virtual blockade of Hormuz has sent oil and gas prices soaring and pushed countries around the world to enact measures to contain the fallout.
Earlier Monday, Israeli strikes had hit major Iranian petrochemical facilities, including in Asaluyeh on the Gulf coast, the country’s biggest, and another outside Shiraz in central Iran.
Israel’s military said it had also struck Iranian air force targets, including planes and helicopters at airports in Tehran and elsewhere.
Iran’s Guards posted on Telegram on Monday that their intelligence chief Majid Khademi, had been killed at dawn in US-Israeli strikes.
Israel’s military also said it had killed Asghar Bagheri, commander of the Guards’ Quds Force special operations unit, on Sunday.
“We will reach anyone who seeks to harm us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The Guards’ Intelligence Organisation vowed a “major retaliatory strike” against those responsible for killing their commanders, their official Sepah News website reported.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they launched an attack targeting Israel, supporting their backer Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The war, which erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has engulfed the Middle East and roiled the global economy.
The worldwide oil squeeze has hit aviation, with Indonesia on Monday saying it would increase a jet fuel surcharge and low-cost carrier Air Asia X announcing ticket price hikes of up to 40 per cent.
South Korea will send ships to fetch oil from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, avoiding Hormuz altogether, a ruling party MP said, while Taiwan’s government said it too would take the Red Sea route.
Gulf nations allied with the US have also been sucked into the war, with Kuwait and the UAE reporting strikes and injuries from Sunday to Monday.
Iran has continued to launch attacks at Israel, where the military and medics said four bodies were recovered from a residential building in the northern city of Haifa that was struck by a missile.
Iranian media reported several attacks on residential areas of Tehran, while the state broadcaster said gas outages hit parts of the capital after a strike on a university.
AFP
Some Nigerians in India have raised the alarm over what they described as increased racial profiling and brutalisation by the Indian police.
They lamented visa regularisation challenges and high renewal fees, which they said had made life unbearable in the Asian country.
Some of the residents alleged that some Nigerian students were physically assaulted, adding that reporting to the authorities had changed nothing.
NANS issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government for urgent diplomatic engagement, warning that it would escalate advocacy actions nationwide if the issues were not addressed.
Speaking with journalists during the demonstration, the NANS Vice President (Special Duties), Abubakar Mallawa, decried the alleged ill-treatment of Nigerians, adding that the association had received multiple distress reports from students in Indian cities, particularly Mumbai, over visa challenges, discriminatory practices and systematic profiling.
He noted that the affected students and other Nigerians engaged in legitimate businesses had faced difficulties in renewing visas, mass arrests linked to immigration status, denial of rental accommodation based solely on nationality, closure of Nigerian-owned shops, confiscation of goods, and, in some cases, forceful entry into residences and detention under degrading conditions.
The group also raised concerns over the visa application process, alleging that Nigerian applicants were often required to pay interview and processing fees but denied visas without clear explanations.
In a recent interview on Arise TV, the National Secretary of NANS, Anzaku Shedrack, said the group had been receiving disturbing videos showing the brutalisation of Nigerians in several parts of India, and called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene.
A video clip played by the tv station showed some suspected Indians attacking and stoning an individual, said to be a Nigerian, on the floor.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the Education Coordinator of the Association of African Students in India, Rajasthan chapter, Abisola Williams, said Nigerians were going through tough times in India.
Williams also admitted that Nigerian students were seriously affected by regularisation challenges.
The third-year physiotherapy student explained that India does not grant permanent residency to international students.
“It’s either you’re a student or a professional with a work visa. As for Nigerians, we have to renew our visas every year, as students or professionals,” she said.
Williams noted that Indian authorities reserved the right to deny visa extensions to students who failed to meet academic or financial obligations.
Another Nigerian student in Delhi, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that Nigerians were required to pay 10,000 rupees (about N146,000) every three months to renew their visas, a fee she claimed is lower for students from other African countries.
“Other students from other African countries do not pay for it. We were told it was an agreement between the Indian and Nigerian governments for students to pay every three months. I know Zimbabweans who are not paying to renew visas, while Ghanaians pay a maximum of 500 rupees, which is about N8,000. This is just unfair. That’s the cross Nigerians bear to regularise their stay in India. They don’t give us enough time to raise the money. But for other nationals like Zimbabweans, they get about eight months before their next visa expires,” the student said.
She added that the fee was not disclosed during visa processing in Nigeria and that many students only became aware of it after arriving in India.
The student further alleged that Indian police actively track Nigerians, whose visas had expired, leading to arrests, intimidation and deportation.
“When my visa was about to expire, I went to renew it, but was surprised to learn it was 10,000 rupees. After that, the police came looking for me because I had not renewed my visa.
“I have seen male students who were bullied and harassed because of this. They don’t believe we live by the rules. Anything that goes wrong is attributed to Nigerians, and it’s unfair.
“There are people who have faced serious injustice in the hands of these officers. Some were taken to deportation camps. I knew someone who was deported to Nigeria for this,” she said.
Drug crimes in India
No fewer than 50,000 Nigerians are believed to be resident in India.
Analysts believe that the Nigerian community is being targeted due to increased arrests of some people from the country for alleged drug trafficking.
In 2024, Indian agencies arrested 660 foreign nationals for drug-related crimes.
No fewer than 106 of the suspects were reported to be Nigerians, the second highest. Nepal was first on the list with 203 nationals.
Also, 2,356 Nigerians were deported by India between 2019 and 2024, with removals quadrupling from 339 in 2021 to 1,470 in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Nigerians are police informants – Diplomat
But a diplomat in India said some Nigerians were being used as informants by the Indian police.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that such people were usually induced with money.
“Fellow Nigerians report one another to the police when they have disputes. They become informants because the authorities give them a share. When Nigerians are arrested, the police extort money from them, and the informants take a cut. These practices put the country in a bad light,” the source said.
The source also urged Nigerians to comply with local laws.
The official added, “People should ask why Nigerians are being maltreated. What offence did they commit? You are in another country and must obey their laws. Some individuals have overstayed for years without valid visas. Once caught, there may be consequences.”
On the quarterly visa renewal, the official said the issue also affects Nigerian diplomats and called for reciprocal measures.
“As diplomats, our families renew visas yearly. It is an issue we have raised at the highest level, but nothing has been done. The best approach is reciprocity. We should ensure their families get similar terms, while we consider shorter durations for their students.”
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