Drones dropping 'unprecedented level' of contraband to prisons (even one cell window delivery)

Muiris O'Cearbhaill reports from Galway

UP TO €5M worth of contraband has been smuggled into Irish prisons so far this year, according to the Prison Officers Association.

One alleged incident included a drone being flown near a cell window and the delivery being hooked into the building by someone inside, the association said. 

The parcels – usually filled with drugs, sim cards, phones or weapons – have estimated values of between thousands and tens of thousands of euro. 

Deputy General Secretary of the Irish Prison Officers’ Association Gabriel Keaveny said there has been more than 100 confirmed sightings of drones delivering contraband into Irish prisons since the start of the year. 

A large quantity of illegal drugs and two mobile phones recently seized by prison officers. POA POA

“Because of there’s so many mobile phones in the prisons, [people] are sending drones to a particular set of coordinates – exactly to the cell window if it’s needed – and it’s pulled in on a hook,” Keaveny said.

Depending on the contents of the parcels, they can reach up to €50,000 in value.

A large number of pills and other drugs which made their way into Irish prisons. POA POA

It is understood that the event where a delivery was hooked into a cell from a window was an isolated incident.

A spokesperson for the service previously said that officers have also increased cell searches in response. The Department of Justice and the Irish Prison Service has installed new metal netting at prisons where drones are a particular issue. 

Keaveny said he believed that some drone operators have attempted to get around this by dropping deliveries into the prison’s ventilation system.

He said investments need to be made in technology to stop drones from breaching the perimeter walls of Irish facilities.

Small bottles of alcohol have been smuggled into prisons in recent years. POA POA

Knives and other weapons have been found in prisons and officers worry that firearms may be next. POA POA

Officers were fearful guns could be delivered by drones, he said.

At the Prison Officers’ Association’s Annual Conference in Galway today, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan was shown images of the contents of some of the deliveries.

The images show vast amounts of pills, cannabis, mobile phones, knives, alcohol and other illicit substances. The Journal has previously reported that large numbers of drug deliveries are a “significant issue” in Irish prisons.

Drugs and smartphones which have been smuggled into Irish prisons. POA POA

The Prison Officers’ Association has expressed concern over the risk that its members are in when retrieving and intercepting the deliveries.

General Secretary Karl Dalton said the level of contraband arriving into prisons is “unprecedented” because of the use of drones.