Management at the maximum security prison in Portlaoise are investigating reports that paramilitary inmates are using the prison kitchen as a transit hub for drugs and other contraband.
They have been made aware of reports from prison officers that dissident republican prisoners are distributing drugs to members of the Kinahan organised crime group in return for payment.
Paramilitary prisoners, who are housed on E Block of the maximum security facility, are subject to less stringent search procedures than other categories of inmates. It is suspected some have been taking advantage of this to move drugs through the prison kitchen, to prisoners on C Block, which houses the majority of inmates.
It is understood staff have made a formal report on the matter to senior prison management.
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In April, a large consignment of drugs was found in the prison, hidden in a trolley containing kitchen supplies. The consignment consisted of 31 grammes of heroin and hundreds of dalmane and benzodiazepine tablets. It is believed the drugs were worth more than €30,000, an unusually large seizure in a prison setting.
The matter is being investigated by the Garda and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) Operational Support Group (OSG) which is responsible for tackling the flow of contraband into prisons.
Following the seizure, a dissident republican prisoner was ordered to leave E Block by other inmates due to suspicions he was involved in the smuggling. This man was moved to another area of the prison. The stated position of the dissident prisoners group in Portlaoise is that members do not engage in the drugs trade.
Among the inmates on C Block are several senior Kinahan associates, including Peader Keating who was jailed for 11 years for his role in the planned murder of Kinahan rival James “Mago” Gately. Keating is believed to be seen as a leadership figure on the block.
Also on C Block is David Duffy, another Kinahan associate who played a role in the plot to kill Mr Gately.
Portlaoise, which is guarded by the Army, houses 214 inmates.
An IPS spokesman declined to comment on specific security issues, but said attempts to smuggle drugs into prisons had increased since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This includes an increase in “throw-overs” where drugs are thrown over prison walls into exercise yards and attempts to hide drugs in post and packages addressed to prisoners, including inside clothing.
Criminals had also been spraying drugs in liquid form on to letters, newspapers and other property, he said.
The IPS spokesman said advancements in drug detection technology had proven “particularly effective” in tackling these smuggling methods.
“Staff have increased the use of random and intelligence-led cell searches on a daily basis. Our canine unit carries out searches around the prisons, including a greater focus on searching deliveries.”
He pointed to two large seizures of contraband in Mountjoy in recent years, including about €150,000 worth of drugs seized there in November 2020, the largest ever prison drugs seizure.
The IPS “recognises that constant improvements are required in this area”, he said, adding that a free confidential phone line had been set up for prisoners, visitors, staff or the public who had information on smuggling.
“The Irish Prison Service continues to engage with An Garda Síochána with regard to preventing contraband entering our prison, and this happens at both local and national level,” he said.
