Violent criminal gang put GPS trackers on three prison guards’ vehicles in bid to discover their home address and blackmail them into moving high-ranking member to a softer jail
- Ashley Waterman, 34, reportedly asked to be transferred from HMP Wayland
- Three prison officers have allegedly had their cars fitted with GPS trackers
- A group reportedly also left a note saying ‘there are three trackers just for show’
Three prison officers’ cars were fitted with GPS trackers as a group left behind an intimidating note calling for the transfer of a prisoner jailed after he was caught on CCTV wielding a gun in an armed robbery, a source claims.
Ashley Waterman, 34, reportedly asked to be moved to a softer prison
Staff were worried they would be followed home and attacked by a gang, which reportedly wants Ashley Waterman, 34, moved from HMP Wayland near Griston, Norfolk, to a softer prison.
The note allegedly said: ‘Ashley Waterman has asked to be transferred and you haven’t listened, there are three trackers just for show.’
Speaking to the Sun, a source claimed the trackers were ‘fully working’ and could have led dangerous criminals to officers’ homes.
They said: ‘It sounds like a plot from TV’s Line of Duty but it was deadly serious.
‘The trackers were fully working and would have provided the GPS coordinates of the officers’ homes.
‘The officers and their families could have been at real risk.’
Waterman pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy to rob and one of possession of an imitation firearm in 2016.
He is understood to have been the ringleader of a gang which carried out a series of armed robberies in north London.
Waterman was was given 15 years and eight months but this was later cut to 13 years on appeal.
Norfolk Police told the Sun it responded to reports of vehicle interference.
MailOnline has reached out to the force and HMP Wayland for more information.
The paper also reports that Waterman was moved to the segregation unit in the prison.
HMP Wayland is a category C men’s prison – the second softest category followed only by category D.
According to the government website, ‘most prisoners are located in a category C’, which ‘provide prisoners with the opportunity to develop their own skills so they can find work and resettle back into the community on release’.
Waterman, currently at HMP Wayland near Griston, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy to rob and one of possession of an imitation firearm in 2016
Category D facilities have minimal security and even allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the jail ‘on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purpose’.
Portable GPS trackers, which can record data regarding a vehicle’s whereabouts, can sometimes even provide real-life speed and location data using a network of satellites, Lifewire reports.
Portable models are discreet enough to be fitted underneath a car, inside a wheel well or in the trunk.
Source: Read Full Article
