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Comfy life of Irish prisoners
09/05/2007 17:19 - (SA)
Dublin - An extensive search in Ireland's highest security jail has uncovered mobile phones, drugs, home-brew alcohol and even a pet budgie, the Prison Service said on Wednesday.
The search concentrated on 26 cells in a section of Portlaoise Prison in central Ireland, which houses some of the country's most notorious prisoners.
The comb-out followed a breach of security earlier this month when a convicted armed robber serving a nine-year sentence used a mobile phone to ring a radio chat show.
The incident infuriated Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who believes jailed Irish gang leaders are using mobile phones to continue running their crime empires on the outside.
The search at Portlaoise resulted in the seizure of at least eight smuggled mobile phones, three SIM cards, around 150 tablets, including ecstasy, a significant quantity of powdered drugs, a large amount of home-made alcohol and 30 syringes.
The budgie pet was found in the cell of a prisoner serving a lengthy sentence.
A Prison Service spokesperson said a media report that the budgie was smuggled into the jail by a female visitor who concealed the bird internally in her body was "speculation".
- AFP
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