Criminals are using dead rats to smuggle “zombie drug” spice and mobile phones into jail because the prison black market for them is so lucrative.
The Ministry of Justice believe the extraordinary operation — disclosed today — was orchestrated by criminal kingpins through their organised crime networks.One prison board member claimed even a single cigarette could cost as much as pounds 100 on the black market. Prison officials say scanners are key to combating smuggling either through X-ray technology that can spot drugs or phones inside visitors’ bodies or Rapiscan machines which can detect drugs soaked into letters or paper brought into jails.
One in five random mandatory drug tests are now positive, half of which were accounted for by spice, according to the latest Ministry of Justice figures. This is the highest level since 2006.Assaults on staff were up by nearly a third to more than 10,000 last year, while prisoner-on-prisoner attacks rose by 18 per cent to more than 24,000.“In order to tackle drugs we need technology,” said Chris Hutchinson, a board member at Durham prison.
Gives a whole new meaning to the term “jailhouse rat”.
The dark side of humanity. The dregs of society.