A significant new initiative targeting criminals who oversee the bulk of drug trafficking into Irish penitentiaries has been launched by the Gardaí and the Irish Prison Service. This action takes place in response to an elevated number of contraband seizures, including drugs and mobile phones, within correctional facilities.
Earlier this month, senior representatives from the prison service, including Director General Caron McCaffrey, joined top-tier Gardaí to strategise for the new operation. The primary focus is on intelligence gathering both within and outside the prisons to pinpoint the key contributors benefiting from the profitable drug business in prisons.
There are plans to enhance Garda operations around prison grounds, with the intention of apprehending those who smuggle contraband into prison yards by throwing it over walls or employing drones for delivery.
Interceptive drones were procured by the prison service and are currently not in use according to the Prison Officers’ Association (POA). Also, technology to disrupt the signal between operators and their drones has yet to be implemented.
The POA’s General Secretary, Karl Dalton, states that drug and mobile phone seizures in prisons have risen by 160% and just over 200%, respectively, since 2015. Yet, arrests for smuggling has decreased by half over the same period. His remarks during the POA’s annual conference in Sligo revealed that 1,272 mobile phones, 1,294 drug packets, and 308 weapons were seized in 2023, leading to 66 arrests.
Ms McCaffrey credited the rise in seizure rates in part to increased security measures such as in-cell inspections and perimeter wall patrols by prison staff. A recent Gardaí operation around Cloverhill Prison in Dublin resulted in 75 apprehensions. She expects the joint initiative with the Gardaí to boost progress even more.
On April 10th, she and Garda senior officials, including those from organised crime-specialist Garda units, held “a high-level meeting”. The group intends to convene at least bi-annually to ensure “we take every step we can to prevent drugs from entering prisons”.
“It’s also about sharing intelligence and increasing the number of operations, which we perceive as a major advancement,” she stated.
Despite the implementation of rehabilitative initiatives for inmates by the prison service, over 70% of the prison population struggle with substance abuse issues, and will go to great lengths to sneak drugs into correctional facilities. The drug supply into prison is highly profitable and competitive, leading her to believe that a significant collaborative effort is required between the prison service and the Garda.