Inmates 'smuggling mini sim cards into prison in their foreskins'

A prison source said the sim cards are not picked up by metal detectors as they have very little metal

The SIM cards used in tiny mobile phones, that are also smuggled in people internally into prisons, allow prisoners to illegally communicate with the outside world from their cells. File photo: iStock

Miniature mobile phone SIM cards are being smuggled into Limerick jail in prisoner’s foreskins, according to a prison source.

The SIM cards used in tiny mobile phones, that are also smuggled in people internally into prisons, allow prisoners to illegally communicate with the outside world from their cells. Unregistered SIM cards are untraceable, making it difficult to prosecute those smuggling the illegal contraband into jails.

“That’s how it’s done, these tiny SIM cards for miniature phones can be hidden in the foreskin, among other ways,” said the source. This method of smuggling can allow a prisoner or visitor to bypass security, they claimed.

“There’s not much metal in these things, they’re really tiny, so they're not picked up by metal detector, so there’s no notification that there’s been a security breach. This is just another way of smuggling phones and SIM cards into jails, it’s been going on for quiet a while now.” 

Irish Prison Service response

When asked if it was aware of this, a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) replied that “preventing the access of contraband (including mobile phones) into prisons will always remain a high priority for the Irish Prison Service” and that a “suspension of visits for significant periods since March 2020, as a result of Covid-19, has forced a shift in the methods used for trafficking contraband into prisons”.

“We have seen an increase in the number of 'throw overs' ie contacts on the outside attempting to throw mobile phones and drugs into exercise yards. Due to the regimes currently in operation in our prisons, prison staff have been able to identify and intercept many of these 'throw-overs' ensuring they do not reach the prison population, and in addition, staff have increased the use of random and intelligence led cell searches on a daily basis,” said the spokesman.

The prison service canine unit which is responsible for carrying out searches around prisons, includes “a greater focus on searching deliveries”.

The spokesman cited “a recent example of this, in Mountjoy Prison, where two of the biggest seizures of contraband to date was recorded”.

He said the prison service has noted “an increase in drugs found in post, parcels, and prisoner clothing has also increased as a result of visits being suspended” but that it has had success in tackling this through “advancements in our drug detection technology, which has proved particularly effective in identifying drugs that are sprayed onto letters, newspapers, and other prisoner property”.

“The Irish Prison Service works in close co-operation with An Garda Síochana with regard to the sharing of information and the carrying out of joint operations aimed at targeting the smuggling of contraband into prisons,” he added.

Recent seizures

Thousands of weapons, drugs, and mobile phones have been seized in Irish jails, according to latest information on prison contraband seizures released by the IPS.

Over the past six years, between 2016 and up to November 27 this year, there have been 6,798 drug seizures in prisons, and 5,884 mobile phones and 2,769 weapons recovered.

Drugs have also been smuggled into prison via stamps on letters or postcards which have been pre-dipped in illegal substances, as well as by concealing powdered cocaine or cannabis in between two postcards which are glued and pressed together to make it appear as if there is only one post card.

The prevalence of drones has also led to alleged attempts by drug gangs to courier drugs into prison yards from the air. Last January, gardaí foiled an attempt by a criminal gang to deliver a €5,000 drugs package, mobile phones and chargers into Portlaoise Prison using a drone.