A CONVICTED murderer tried to deal drugs in prison, hiding them between his buttocks during a strip search, and attacked prison officers when they found the contraband.

Life prisoner Mohammed Hashi was found guilty of possession of £1,400 cocaine, cannabis and cannabis resin with intent to supply in HMP Long Lartin after a trial at Worcester Crown Court which concluded on Friday.

Now serving his sentence at HMP Gartree, Hashi had already admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault against prison officers at the high security prison near Evesham.

The sentencing judge told him, while he could not add to a life sentence, the convictions may affect his eligibility for parole.

All offences happened at the prison on April 4, 2017. The court heard how Hashi was found with £1,400 of drugs, the value of which increases significantly, particularly in 'category A' high security prisons. The drugs were discovered following a strip search for contraband when the defendant was asked to remove his boxer shorts and prison officers observed a package the size of a Mars bar fall out from between his buttocks.

Summarising the evidence to the jury, Recorder Benjamin Nicholls said when the package fell out the prison officers had seen him put it in his mouth even though it was 'too big to be swallowed'.

Wendy Miller, prosecuting, said: "There was a real opportunity for him to make money."

Hashi claimed the drugs were for his personal use and he did not intend to supply them to others.

Upon conviction Recorder Benjamin Nicholls told the jury Hashi was serving a life sentence having been convicted at the Central Criminal Court of murder in 2012. There a minimum term of 22 years was set. As a result of the murder conviction the 26-year-old will not be able to apply for parole until 2034.

Hashi was one of four gang members given a life sentence for the murder of rival Milad Golmakani, 22, of Swiss Cottage, London, stabbed while playing football on a sports pitch. His friend, 17, survived the attack.

Wendy Miller, prosecuting, said Hashi also had previous convictions for possession of class A drugs with intent to supply.

Jason Aris, for Hashi, said his client had made the most of his time in custody and had been ‘doing his utmost to address those particular problems which led to his incarceration in the first place’.

Mr Aris also stressed that Hashi had previously had a good relationship with prison officers. As a result of the assaults Hashi was placed in solitary for one month, Mr Aris told the court.

Hashi did not return to court on Friday. He was convicted unanimously of two offences of supplying drugs on Thursday. He was convicted by majority of a third offence of supplying cannabis on Friday.

Mr Aris said Hashi’s absence was not out of disrespect for the court. At the time of the offences, Hashi’s appeal against his murder conviction had been quashed and he ‘did something really silly’ when the appeal was rejected said Mr Aris.

Recorder Benjamin Nicholls said: “It’s a great pity that in 2017 he succumbed to the temptation to try and make some money by taking into his possession various drugs clearly with a view to selling them within the prison system.”

He said the presence of drugs in prison ‘adversely affects good order and discipline’.

The judge imposed a sentence of five years and nine months – five years for the drugs offences and nine months for the assaults.