PRISON OFFICER JAILED FOR RELATIONSHIP WITH DRUG DEALER INMATE

Jahvine Kwamba, a prison officer at HMP Fosse Way in Leicestershire, has been sentenced to eight months in jail after engaging in an inappropriate relationship with prisoner Roberts Sokolovs. Leicester Crown Court heard that Kwamba initiated contact with Sokolovs 1,367 times between 24 February and 3 June 2024 whilst he was held at the category C prison. Kwamba had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in a public office. The court was told that sexually explicit photographs and messages were exchanged between the pair on Snapchat, both while Sokolovs remained at HMP Fosse Way and after his subsequent transfer to an immigration removal centre at Gatwick Airport.

According to prosecution counsel Rawaid Javed, 5,441 Snapchat contacts occurred between Kwamba and Sokolovs while at the prison, with a further 4,211 contacts after the prisoner's transfer. Sokolovs was imprisoned in 2022 for his involvement in the "Jimmy Line" county lines drug ring, which operated between Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Lincoln. Financial records showed Kwamba received five payments totalling £1,495 from Sokolovs's mother, Zita Sokolova, and 18 payments totalling £4,665 from his sister Venera Sokolova between March and July 2024. Kwamba denied any physical sexual contact, though the prosecution stated it was "sceptical" of this claim. Sokolovs was deported to Latvia in November 2024 and was never interviewed regarding the relationship.

Kwamba's defence counsel Sam Ponniah argued she had demonstrated "significant levels of naivety and immaturity" and had been "well in over her head", noting she was 19 at the time of the offences and had worked as a prison officer for only four months. Kwamba, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was arrested in July 2024. She was responsible for supervising 64 prisoners whilst working at an unfamiliar location away from home.