Police pledged to crack down on corrupt prison officers after a male officer was jailed for smuggling drugs to inmates.

Richard Carew, 34, "abused his position of authority" by taking cannabis and mobile phones into Pentonville Prison inside hidden compartments in clocks and cans of drink, Scotland Yard said.

The former officer at the north London prison was jailed for five years at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, a police spokesman said.

Acting Detective Inspector Neil Smithson, of the London Prisons Anti-Corruption Team, said: "Carew abused his position of authority in a prison and assisted in setting up a drug dealing gang with willing participants both inside and outside the cells.

"We take this kind of misconduct very seriously and will always seek to prosecute anyone who attempts to exploit the prison service in this way.

"As the judge in this case said, Carew committed a gross breach of trust."

Carew was arrested at his home in Celt Close, Sittingbourne, Kent, in June last year.

Officers found 12 mobile phones ready to be smuggled into the prison and while looking at his computer they discovered that he had searched on the internet for 'hidden compartment hideaway wall clock', 'hidden compartment walking shoes' and 'diet coke can safe - stash tin'.

In December, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, conspiracy to take mobile phones into prison, unauthorised electronic communication from within a prison and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.

Murder squad detectives were quizzing three men last night after two friends were gunned down in an execution-style shooting.

They were arrested almost 24 hours after Mohammed Farah, 19, and Amin Ahmed Ismail, 18, were blasted with a volley of shots to the head in a street ambush in Milton Keynes, Bucks, on Thursday night.

The two teenagers were killed in what was believed to be a gangland reprisal after members of rival gangs fell out.



Mohammed, who had five brothers and sisters, lived in Milton Keynes but had fled to Birmingham several months ago to avoid clashing with gang members.

It was believed he had returned to the town to see his family and was with Amin, a friend who had travelled from London to see him. The pair had been chased into an alleyway where they were repeatedly shot in the head.

Both men were found lying in the alley, with Amin - who was still alive at the time - slumped over his friend's bloodstained body.

The 18-year-old was taken to Milton Keynes General Hospital but died 14 hours later in the intensive care unit, without ever regaining conscious-ness. A neighbour who ran outside when he heard shots had to retreat back into his home when he heard further gunfire and dialled 999.

A large area of notorious Fishermead Boulevard housing estate in Milton Keynes was sealed off following the double murder.

Detective Superintendent Rob Mason, leading the investigation, said: "Although we have made a number of arrests, I am keen to stress that we are still in the very early stages of the investigation. "I would continue to urge anyone with information to contact police urgently.

"We have made significant progress and we are continuing to follow up a number of leads.

"I would like to emphasise that this is still very much a live investigation."

A spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police said the three suspects were being held in separate police stations and would be interviewed later in the day.

She added that the ages of the three men in custody were being witheld due to concerns around identification, suggesting some might be juveniles.

Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the shooting.

Midland gangsters and hardmen featured in new Faces book

HE dark lines etched on their world weary faces only hint at the colourful lives they once led.
These days most are pensioners, enjoying the twilight years of their retirement.
But in their heyday they were some of Britain’s most feared gangsters and hardmen.
Now they have been recorded for history in two new books by a Birmingham author, himself a former feared criminal.
Bernard O’Mahoney has highlighted key figures from the days of the infamous Kray Twins in the swinging 60s, to the mean streets of modern-day Glasgow.
The author, 51, has written numerous previous books lifting the lid on his own experiences as a gangster during the 1990s ecstasy boom, including Essex Boys which was made into a film.
In his latest project – simply called Faces – he has convinced former gangsters, criminals or hardmen to pose for an incredible rogues gallery.
Dad-of-six Bernard, who lives in Harborne, said: “I don’t really like to blow my own trumpet, but these books are pretty impressive items.
“These villains, or Faces, as they prefer to be called, have been making headlines for more than 50 years.
“A few of them like the Krays, or ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser, were so well-known that just the mention of their names could strike fear into whole communities.
“But there are many more of our most notorious criminals or hardmen who have gone largely unknown, I wanted to bring them altogether in one place.
“I don’t mean to glorify or glamorise crime, but there have always been criminals and always will be, so these books serve as an important social record.”