X-ray shows where man packed vitals for jail term

A KNOWN drug user who was before a Cork court and facing a jail term packed a few essentials for the trip - parcels of heroin under his foreskin, and a mobile phone, a SIM card and a charger up his rectum.

The items were recovered following two searches — one at a Garda station and another at Cork University Hospital — on Thursday.

The man, who is in his early 20s, was before Midleton District Court on Thursday morning facing a number of charges. It is understood he was expecting to be jailed later that day for one of the alleged offences. But his case was adjourned until the afternoon and he left the court at lunchtime.

Detectives became suspicious about an hour later as he walked back to the court with another man.

He was arrested on the town’s main street at 2.15pm under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act.

The man was taken to Midleton Garda Station for the purpose of a search under the provisions of the misuse of drugs act.

Following a search, three small parcels of the heroin, each wrapped in cling film and with a combined street value of about €400, were recovered.

Detectives escorted him to CUH where he underwent an X-ray. It showed a mobile phone and a SIM card stuffed into his rectum.

They were recovered but no other drugs were found.

Gardaí said a number of other items were recovered during this search but they declined to discuss the details. However, it is understood one of those items included the cable from a mobile phone charger, which was wrapped tightly.

“We’ve obviously come across people hiding drugs in this fashion,” said a senior Garda spokesman.

“But this is the first time we’ve seen someone hiding a mobile phone and other items in this manner before going in to jail. This just shows the lengths people will go to get stuff into prison.”

The Prison Officer’s Association said this latest incident highlighted the difficulties faced by their members on a daily basis.

“Prison officers have powers to conduct full body searches but do not have the power to conduct internal searches,” said spokesman for the association Eugene Dennehy.

“We believe there is technology available that could be used to deal with contraband. These types of incidents highlight the need for airport-style X-ray equipment in prisons.”

The Irish Prison Service has confiscated 1,644 mobile phones since September 2006.

Almost a third of the phones were seized in Mountjoy Prison, with Limerick and Wheatfield accounting for 202 and 179 seizures respectively.

The man from whom the phone was recovered on Thursday was released without charge yesterday and a file will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The charges he was due to face on Thursday have been further adjourned.