Rise in drugs and weapons in prisons

The amount of drugs, weapons and other contraband detected in prisons continued to rise last year despite a range of enhanced measures implemented by authorities to stop smuggling.

A total of 661 makeshift daggers and other deadly weapons were seized by prison officers in jails here last year — an increase of almost 20% compared to 2017.

There were also 1,126 drug seizures during 2018 — an average of three every day — representing an increase of 11% on the previous year.

The number of phones confiscated from inmates similarly climbed by 9% to 953 during the same period.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) spent almost €313,000 on netting and other anti-smuggling systems between 2015 and 2017, as well as introducing a confidential phone line for reporting suspected trafficking of prohibited items.

However, records released by the IPS under the Freedom of Information Act show that seizures of contraband have continued to increase despite enhanced efforts to clamp down on smuggling.

“Preventing the access of contraband into prisons remains a high priority for the IPS,” said a spokesperson.

“Concerted efforts are made on a continuous basis to prevent the flow of drugs into our prisons by, for example, installing nets over exercise yards, vigilant observation of prisoners by staff, enhanced CCTV monitoring, stricter control of visits, and the use of targeted and random cell searches on a daily basis.”

Drug-detection dogs have also been introduced, along with the installation of airport-style security measures such as scanners and X-ray machines, said the spokesperson.

More than 25% of the weapons seized last year (172) were found in Mountjoy Prison, while a further 20% of the total haul (135) was discovered at Wheatfield Prison.

The most commonly seized weapons are makeshift daggers, typically fashioned from blades or sharpened objects attached to small handles made from toothbrushes or pens.

These are easily concealed and can potentially be used to cause catastrophic injuries to prison officers or other inmates.

Wheatfield Prison also accounted for over 35% of drug seizures last year (395). This was followed by Mountjoy, where nearly 20% of drug finds (221) were recorded in 2018.

The highest number of mobile phones seized by prison authorities was recorded at Mountjoy (296), followed by Wheatfield Prison, where 220 mobile devices were confiscated from inmates.

In Cork Prison, 29 phones were seized last year, along with 55 quantities of drugs and 37 weapons. Limerick Prison seized 56 phones, 94 drug stashes, and 91 weapons, while Midlands Prison in Portlaoise seized 127 phones, 97 quantities of drugs, and 92 weapons in 2018.