A Sydney lawyer who has described herself as “forward thinking”, “compassionate” and “ensuring compliance with the highest ethical standards” will face court later this month after being charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine and ice into Parklea prison on Tuesday.
Kristy Howell, 43, of Penrith’s KJR Legal, was arrested as she attempted to enter the western Sydney correctional facility on Tuesday “after alleged contraband was seized … when visiting as a legal professional”, police said in a statement on Wednesday.
“During a further search of the woman, officers allegedly located and seized six small balloons containing tobacco, methylamphetamine, cocaine and buprenorphine,” police said.
She has been charged with unlawfully bringing anything into a place of detention, supplying an indictable quantity of a prohibited drug and two counts of supplying a prohibited drug.
Howell was granted bail by Blacktown Local Court on Wednesday with a raft of conditions including she does not go within 100 metres of a prison and reports three times a week to Penrith police station.
She is also banned from contacting an inmate inside Parklea and will return to court later this month.
Howell’s LinkedIn profile says she worked at a Cobram Youth Justice Centre, a prison for boys, for the 16 years until 2017.
