By C1 Staff
DUBLIN, Ireland – More than 2,000 liters of homemade alcohol has been seized from Irish prisoners over the past two years.
The Irish Examiner reports that 2,046 liters of hooch were confiscated from prisoners in the state’s 14 detention centers in 2013 and 2014.
The largest quantity seized last year – 321 liters – was confiscated at the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise. The medium-security jail has an operational capacity of 870 prisoners.
In the UK, some prisons have banned inmates from buying large quantities of fruit, especially apples and pears, in order to prevent its use in the brewing process.
“A range of enhanced measures including the establishment of a dedicated group of staff [ th operational support group] was introduced in May 2008 with the aim of reducing the supply of contraband into our prisons,” an Irish Prison Services spokesman said, on the topic of what efforts were being made to prevent contraband.
“This also included the introduction of security screening areas in all closed prisons, the introduction of a canine unit, increased searching of all cells and their occupants, and the installation of nets over exercise yards.”
Prison brewing has been known to cause outbreaks of botulism, a disease caused in the fermentation process that includes symptoms such as muscle weakness, paralysis and blindness.