Drugs getting to prisoners by ‘ingenious’ methods

INCREASINGLY ingenious ways are being used to smuggle drugs into prisons, including through kissing, in fruits and presents, and even in babies' nappies.

Prison chiefs pledged yesterday to significantly cut the trail of narcotics getting to criminals behind bars within the next six months.

But prison guards warned of the frustration of watching visitors suspected of having contact with or hiding drugs on their body being allowed continue visits or just walk away.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) revealed yesterday that visitors picked out by sniffer dogs — which points to possession of drugs — were still allowed go on to meet inmates.

The Irish Prison Service confirmed this but said visits were then held behind screens. Guards said this did not prevent visitors getting drugs to inmates.

“These people are fairly ingenious. They can drop them in the prison, go out to the toilet and leave them there, and then there’s other prisoners who are cleaners,” said POA deputy general secretary Eugene Dennehy.

“It’s not the best situation. They’re told to accept a screen visit or come back another day.

“The prison officers would have suspicions and monitor inappropriate people, but it’s impossible to monitor them all,” he said.

“You can ring the police and if the police arrive before they go, they can arrest them.

“They can walk out the door. If some people were caught with that level of drugs in O’Connell Street in Dublin today, they would be facing very serious charges,” he added.

The governor of Mountjoy prison, John Lonergan, has previously revealed the lengths people go to get drugs into prisons, including hiding them in nappies.

But the Irish Prison Service insisted yesterday significant efforts are being taken to crack down on drugs getting into jails.

These include the setting up of a prison operational support group which will gather intelligence on illicit material being hidden in cells. Other initiatives include increasing screening of all prisoners, visitors and staff and the establishment of a drug detection dog service involving around 30 staff and a number of dogs.

Other steps being taken include the use of modern cameras to probe and check for drugs in areas like hollow chair or bed legs, under floor boards, as well as the use of phone detectors and telephone blocking technology.

The pledge by the Irish Prison Service’s director Brian Purcell came after it emerged inmates had tested positive for a cocktail of drugs over the last three years. Some 33,779 of inmates tested positive for cannabis, 26,584 for benzodiazepines, 25,346 for opiates, 2,017 for cocaine, 850 for alcohol and 620 for amphetamines.

Detection rates were as high as 75% in some jails.