PRISON authorities intercepted two packages packed with drugs, phones and chargers in seizures worth a combined €37,400.
The major operation was carried out at Dublin’s Wheatfield Prison where there has been a huge issue with contraband being smuggled in.
Prison officers carried out an major operation on intercepting smuggled packages[/caption]
A combined €37,400 worth of cannabis, drugs, phones and chargers were seized[/caption]
Many packages were smuggled in by throwing them over the prison walls[/caption]
Last weekend, officers from the Operational Support Group quickly responded after they saw a man attempting to throw packages over the prison walls.
The officers recovered multiple packages with cannabis resin, tablets, mobile devices, chargers and SIM cards.
In a separate incident, prison staff intercepted a drone attempting to deliver contraband into an exercise yard.
The package fell short of its intended target and was nabbed by authorities.
It was also packed with tablets, cannabis herb, powder, mini phones and chargers.
An Irish Prison spokesman said: “The seizures prevented illicit items from entering the prison and ensuring the continued safety of staff and prisoners.”
Authorities continue to examine the drugs but the overall seizures are worth an estimated €37,400, which the spokesman said underscored “the ongoing threat posed by smuggling attempts.”
With record levels of prisoners behind bars, causing a major overcrowding issue, contraband making its way in is also sky high.
In a bid to stop drone deliveries, prison chiefs have begun to roll out wire mesh across exercise yards in jails.
Earlier this year, Director General of the Irish Prison Service Caron McCaffrey and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
Speaking in April Ms McCaffrey said: “There are now permanent structures in place involving personnel from the prison service and An Garda Siochana looking at specific areas.
“One is intelligence sharing, obviously targeting people like criminal gangs. One is around evidence preservation.
“So where we find evidence that a crime has been committed in prison to ensure that evidence is properly maintained so we can be successfully prosecuting people. And the third area is around contraband.
“And we’re working much more closely with the Guards in relation to ensuring that we’re disrupting the people who are trafficking the drugs into the prison in the first place.”
