Second conviction for woman who tried to smuggle cannabis to partner inside Albany Regional Prison

A woman has received her second conviction for trying to smuggle cannabis into Albany Regional Prison for her partner. Nicole Leanne Hill, 30, appeared in Albany Magistrate’s Court earlier this month, pleading guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to sell or supply. The Albany woman was caught hiding 0.45 grams of the drug in a “tightly cling-wrapped ball” inside her mouth when she signed into the prison about 4pm on April 27. She received a seven-month jail term conditionally suspended for 12 months. Defence lawyer Janie Gibbs told the court her client was convicted of a similar offence in 2016 when she tried to bring cannabis into the prison for the same partner in two balloons. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said conveying illicit substances into custodial facilities was serious. “Any form of drug distribution in the community is a concern,” she said. “You knew you were doing the wrong thing by the efforts you went to conceal it.”