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Flaming tennis balls, drones and corrupt guards make drug smuggling rife within Irish prisons

Suspected highly potent synthetic opioids ingested by 11 inmates at Portlaoise Prison who were then hospitalised

An ambulance leaving Portlaoise Prison. Eleven prisoners from the jail are being treated in hospital for suspected drug overdoses. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
An ambulance leaving Portlaoise Prison. Eleven prisoners from the jail are being treated in hospital for suspected drug overdoses. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
Conor Gallagher's picture
Conor Gallagher
Wed Aug 14 2024 - 18:07

C wing of Portlaoise Prison is home to dozens of serious criminals, including gangland murderers and members of the Kinahan organised crime group.

As a result, it is one of the most secure parts of the entire prison system. A multitude of security measures, including a platoon of armed soldiers, means escape is all but impossible.

Getting illicit substances in, on the other hand, is not nearly as difficult as demonstrated by the hospitalisation of 11 C wing inmates following suspected drug overdoses on Tuesday.

For decades, prison authorities have been engaged in an endless fight against drug smuggling. It has mostly been a losing battle.

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There are just too many ways to smuggle drugs into prison facilities. Contraband is brought in by visitors, in packages and supply deliveries and, occasionally, by corrupt guards. Sometimes drugs are thrown over the walls to waiting prisoners.

Authorities now also have to contend with criminals using drones to deliver packages to inmates. Sources say smugglers have become increasingly skilled in the operation of these commercially available drones and are able to bypass most countermeasures taken by the Irish Prison Service (IPS).

In some cases, drones are used to drop flaming tennis balls on the nets erected over prison yards to stop drugs drops. The balls burn through the nets, opening the way for drugs packages to be dropped through.

[ Portlaoise Prison overdoses: Three prisoners in intensive care after consuming suspected synthetic opioid ]

The IPS has acquired devices capable of blocking drone signals. However, Karl Dalton, general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said in April this technology is already out of date.

“Interceptor drones” capable of taking down smugglers’ drones were purchased by the IPS but never used, he said.

“What has regrettably now occurred in Portlaoise Prison was somewhat inevitable,” Dalton said on Wednesday

Official figures show a large increase in drug contraband seizures in the last decade. In 2016, there were 715 seizures. By 2021, this had more than doubled to 1,518. Last year, there were 1,294 seizures. What is not known is how many packages are making it through undetected.

The arrival into Ireland of highly potent synthetic opioids, such as nitazene, has made the issue far more urgent. Nitazene, which is many times stronger than opium, is often sold as heroin or synthetic cannabis and has been linked to many deaths in the US and EU.

When nitazene was first detected in Ireland about a year ago the IPS braced for it to appear in the prison population. This fear was realised last month when an inmate in Mountjoy Prison suffered a fatal overdose after taking the substance.

The drug has caused dozens of overdoses in the community, but it is considered particularly dangerous in prison settings due to how easy it is to smuggle. Furthermore, when drug shipments arrive in a prison, the substances tend to be consumed quickly by inmates before they can be seized by officers.

This means a dangerous batch can potentially inflict massive damage before authorities have the chance to take mitigating measures, such as issuing warnings or handing out additional doses of naloxone, which can reverse overdoses.

The severe overcrowding being experienced across the prison system is compounding all of these problems. There are currently 5,017 prisoners in custody and bed capacity is at 112 per cent.

This level of overcrowding drastically stretches resources, meaning drugs are less likely to be intercepted before reaching prisoners.

Inmates also find it harder to access drug treatment programmes, which may lower the demand for narcotics. Furthermore, overcrowding means there are fewer staff members available to run workshops and educational courses. The result is prisoners are more likely to be bored and unoccupied, and therefore more likely to use dangerous drugs.