Drones used in bids to drop drugs and weapons into Irish prisons 505 times since July 2024
Darragh Mc Donagh
Drones have been used in attempts to smuggle drugs, weapons, phones and other contraband into prisons more than 500 times since the middle of last year – despite the installation of €5 million worth of netting over exercise yards.
A total of 2,011 drug packages, 2,671 mobile phones, and 624 weapons have been seized in Irish prisons since the beginning of 2024, and an increase in the use of drones by criminals was noted last year.
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has responded to the spike in drone incursions with a number of “dynamic security measures” and has spent €5 million on metallic mesh netting in outdoor areas to combat contraband drops.
More than 140 drone incursions were recorded by the IPS during the second half of 2024, while another 363 have been reported to date this year – an average of more than one each day.
Some 283 or 56 per cent of the 505 drone incursions recorded since July 2024 occurred at Wheatfield Prison, while the next highest number was reported at Mountjoy Prison, where 81 drone incidents occurred.
Cloverhill Prison was the target of drone incursions on 73 occasions during the same 17-month period, while 23 were reported at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, and 18 at Limerick Prison.
Some of the items recovered from drones included drugs, knives, blades, mobile phones, chargers, and SIM cards, according to Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, who published the data in response to a parliamentary question from Cork TD Ken O’Flynn.
“The Irish Prison Service addresses drone incursions across the prison estate by deploying all appropriate dynamic security measures, responding to the nature and level of the threat in each instance,” he said.
Mr O’Callaghan added that operational information about staffing and technology used to combat drone incursions could not be disclosed for security reasons, but revealed that €5 million had been spent on special metallic netting over exercise yards.
This came in response to the development of a new tactic by criminals, who dropped burning packages from drones to burn through standard netting before dropping drugs or other contraband into prison yards.
Mr O’Callaghan said a number of collaborative operations involving the IPS and An Garda Síochána had been successful in securing “multiple” arrests and prosecutions linked to efforts to smuggle contraband into prisons using drones or ‘throw-overs’.
“This intelligence-led, multiagency cooperation is effectively disrupting and detecting attempted delivery of contraband into prisons and improving communication pathways regarding supply, availability, typology and impact of illicit substances in prisons,” he added.
