The 42-year-old appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to supplying methamphetamine and unlawfully possessing prescription medication.
The woman went to the Otago Corrections Facility on March 3 to visit an associate, who is understood to be serving a lengthy jail term.
While she spoke to the man in the visiting area, she removed a package and handed it over.
But the surreptitious transfer was captured on CCTV.
"The package was retrieved from the body of the inmate," a police summary said.
The contents were analysed and found to comprise 4g of methamphetamine.
When police spoke to the defendant they also found her in possession of 50 tramadol tablets, the court heard.
Counsel Andrew Dawson said his client had been pressured into the high-risk delivery, did not know what was inside the package and had no part in putting it together.
There was never going to be any financial gain for the woman even if the handover had gone undetected, he said.
Judge David Robinson said a Probation report gave him an understanding of the defendant’s background and why she was so susceptible to the pressure exerted on her.
They were "the most compelling personal circumstances I’ve seen in some time", Judge Robinson said.
The defendant was sentenced to six months’ home detention and 80 hours’ community work.
Judge Robinson granted her permanent name suppression.
The prisoner to whom the woman delivered the drugs will be sentenced next month.
