A social media post from jailed Nile Ranger about former teammate Cheick Tiote has resulted in an investigation from the Ministry of Justice.
Two weeks ago, Ranger was jailed after admitting to online banking fraud charges and was sentenced to eight months in prison.
But an Instagram post from the 26-year-old this week dedicated to Tiote, who tragically passed away on Monday in China, has prompted questions about how the former Newcastle striker was able to access the app and post from inside prison.
“Sad to hear the news about my brother Cheick Tiote,” the post read.
“He would go through a brick wall and give you a two footed tackle in training a day before a cup final!
“What a guy though, top man and a professional. My condolences go out to his family.”
Prisoners are not allowed access to social media applications such as Instagram while serving time in British jails and they are also denied access to mobile phones.
“This behaviour is unacceptable and we are working to get the content removed from social media. The prison is also investigating,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice told the Southend Echo.
“It is a criminal offence to bring a mobile phone into prison, or transmit sounds or images from within a prison using a mobile phone. These offences carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison.”
There have been calls to put a blocking mechanism in place on mobile phone signals in prisons in the wake of Ranger’s post, with a former acting prison governor suggesting that it was the most logical course of action available to deny prisoners who have smuggled phones inside the opportunity to beat the system.
Former acting prison governor calls for jails to block mobile signals after #Southend player Nile Ranger sent message from his cell. pic.twitter.com/xlNbgrAqWw
— BBC Essex (@BBCEssex) June 8, 2017
