Just 213 jail drug finds recorded in five years

ONLY 213 incidents of supplying drugs and possession of illegal substances behind bars have been identified by gardaí over the past five years, new figures reveal.

Despite a damning report this week which concluded that the scourge of drugs in Irish prisons was “possibly worse than it has ever been”, data obtained by the Irish Examiner shows only a small number of illegal drug incidents in jails recorded by gardaí.

According to the Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures, four types of “drug incidents” are recorded in jails.