Heroin sewn into the seam of a pair of jeans and drugs discovered inside a courthouse public toilet were among the contraband recovered by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) this week.
The IPS said it has invested in new technologies and developed enhanced security measures in order to support reducing contraband entering Irish prisons.
At Wheatfield Prison this week, detection systems helped recover around €6,000 worth of heroin that was sewn into the seam of a pair of jeans that had been left into a prisoner.
A substantial quantity of drugs was discovered in a care package which had been posted to a prisoner, also incarcerated at Wheatfield.
The IPS said an enhanced security yard netting at Wheatfield led to the recovery of significant amounts of contraband including phones, drugs and paraphernalia.
Elsewhere, during a court escort, a supply of drugs hidden in a public toilet of a courthouse was discovered by IPS staff.
The IPS said its "high-level engagement" and intelligence sharing with An Garda Síochána has resulted in "significant disruption" to organised crime groups involved in smuggling contraband into Irish prisons.
The IPS and gardaí have been involved in ongoing operations which have led to contraband being seized and a number of arrests.
"Collaboration between the Irish Prison Service and AGS operations such as Operation Throwover are intended to disrupt, interdict and prosecute attempts to introduce contraband into prisons," the IPS added in a statement.
