The amount of drugs seized inside prisons across Britain soared last year despite dozens of high-tech X-ray machines being deployed.
Official figures showed almost 200kg of illegal narcotics were found in cells, a rise of 70 per cent from the 116kg seized the year before.
It is feared drone drops, drug-infused letters and crooked staff are allowing the huge influx of drugs into the nation’s jails.
There were 21,145 discoveries of illegal narcotics in prisons last year, equating to almost 60 incidents every day. In one incident 30 drones were seen hovering over Lewes prison in East Sussex during an evening. Pilots have been flying drones up to the windows of cells of known inmates who reach out and grab packages. In response Hindley jail in Manchester is believed to have put mesh across its windows to prevent this tactic.
High-powered catapults have also been used to launch packets stuffed with contraband over the walls into prison yards for inmates to pick up.
At Forest Bank prison, also in Manchester, extra netting was put in place over its exercise yards so no items could be dropped into the area.
Illegal drugs are said to be wreaking havoc across the nation’s jails, fuelling violence, unrest, and widespread addiction among inmates.
Despite increased security measures and the use of advanced technology, smuggling operations continue to flood these institutions with contraband, leaving prisons struggling to maintain order and safety. Last year’s bumper haul comes despite officials spending £100million on extra prison security including 75 high-tech X-ray body scanners, which can see inside the bowels of prisoners.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the equipment, trained drug sniffer dogs and a beefed-up anti-corruption squad were all helping to crack down on the trade.
Figures from the MoJ show cannabis is now the most likely drug to be seized in prison, having overtaken psychoactive substances like spice.
There were almost 800 seizures of Class A drugs including cocaine, heroin and LSD. Other drugs uncovered included steroids, tranquillizers, anti-anxiety and strong medical painkillers.
A MoJ spokeswoman said: “The availability of drugs in prison is yet another sign of the prisons crisis the new Government inherited.
“We are bringing the crisis under control and want to make sure that security measures like X-ray body scanners and restricted fly zones for drones are properly used to detect and stop more illicit items from entering prisons.”
Weight of drugs found in the 10 worst prisons
1 Five Wells, Northants (12.2kg)
2 Highpoint, Suffolk (9.8kg)
3 High Down, Surrey (9.3kg)
4 Altcourse, Liverpool (8.6kg)
5 Coldingley, Surrey (7.6kg)
6 Hindley, Manchester (7.2kg)
7 Lewes, East Sussex (6.5kg)
8 Buckley Hall, Manchester (6.4kg)
9 Swaleside, Kent (6.0kg)
10 Forest Bank, Manchester (6.0kg)
