Sentence increase for man plotting to smuggle drugs into prison
A man who conspired to smuggle drugs and banned items using a drone into a Suffolk prison had his sentence increased following the Attorney General’s intervention.
Dimitrije Dragovic, of Thurnscoe, South Yorkshire, had his sentence increased by one year and two months, after the Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, referred his case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The court heard that police tracked Dragovic through a detailed surveillance operation from his home to London on 14 November 2025 to meet co-conspirators. The next day, he checked into a Suffolk hotel under a false name and collected a bag from a car.
In the early hours of 16 November, he left with the bag, took a taxi to the A143, then walked to a nearby field. Realising he was under surveillance, he discarded the bag and fled across a river but was caught by police dogs.
The bag contained a drone with a range of over three miles, cannabis, tobacco, mobile phones, SIM cards, dongles and charging equipment. HMP Highpoint was within the drone’s flight range of where the bag was recovered.
The Attorney General Ellie Reeves KC MP said:
I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase Dimitrije Dragovic’s sentence.
Conspiring to smuggle a drone, phones and drugs into a prison is not a minor matter; these devices allow organised criminals to coordinate activity from behind bars, undermining the security that keeps the public safe.
I want to thank Suffolk Constabulary for their surveillance work in disrupting this conspiracy that led to Dragovic being brought to justice.
On 20 February 2026, at Ipswich Crown Court, Dimitrije Dragovic was sentenced to two years and two months’ imprisonment for pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to convey a list A article into or out of prison, one count of conspiracy to convey a list B item into or out of prison and breaching a suspended sentence order.
On 19 August 2026, at the Court of Appeal, Dimitreje Dragovic’s sentence was increased to three years and four months.