By C1 Staff
DUBLIN, Ireland — The Operational Support Unit (OSG) in Mountjoy has reported phenomenal success in cracking down on contraband in its facility.
According to Sunday World, the team was set up in 2008 but greatly expanded in 2010 when new management took over the jail. They cannot be identified by name or face, for fear of retaliation from inmates.
OSG staff are responsible for riot and siege control as well as running visits in the jail. They also gather intelligence on the gangs within the system.
Staff members described some of the methods inmates use to smuggle in contraband:
One of the senior OSG officers, ‘Frank’, said: “One of the main ways of bringing drugs into the prison is in a Kinder egg. It is filled with pills or cannabis and is inserted into the back passage and brought inside. A lot of prisoners coming back from temporary release would use this method to bring drugs back into the prison. If we suspect this we put the prisoner in isolation until the Kinder egg comes out naturally.”
Last year 238 cell phones were seized at Mountjoy, along with a total of 173 weapons manufactured from crude materials. There were 183 cases of ‘other’ contraband as well.
One item the OSG is finding difficult to detect is a new form of cell phone in the shape of a key bob that looks and functions like a real car key, but also has full capabilities of making phone calls. It’s easy to palm.
Another time, an eagle-eyed officer spotted hollowed out biscuits that were hiding a cell phone. And yet another scenario of pat down of a female visitor revealed two bags holding 1,500 tablets and a large quantity of cannabis.
“Our efforts have gone a great way to decrease the availability of contraband, but there will always be contraband here for us to find,” said one of the team members.