John AdoyiPrisoners in Ireland are reportedly using letters soaked in synthetic substances to get high, in a smuggling method that has been described as something “out of a movie”, according to a report by the Sunday Mail.
At Castlerea Prison, located in County Roscommon, which is in the Western part of the country, inmates have been receiving correspondence that appears ordinary and in some cases, even resembles legal or solicitor’s mail, but is laced with powerful synthetic substances.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelA prison source told the Sunday Mail: “It is like something out of a movie. They eat the paper to get rid of all the evidence.”
According to the report, the letters are soaked in a solution containing synthetic drugs, dried, and then used as writing paper. Once inside the prison, inmates tear up the paper and eat it, or in some cases smoke it, in order to experience the drug’s effects.
The same source revealed that this method follows earlier attempts to smuggle in drugs using jigsaw puzzles dipped in LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), a hallucinogenic drug known for its powerful mind-altering effects. Inmates reportedly licked the puzzle pieces to absorb the drug.
“It used to be done with puzzles, so inmates were stopped from getting these as gifts from outside the jail,” the source explained. “Now they have moved on to letters which have been written on paper that has been soaked in a solution of synthetic drugs.”
What’s particularly concerning for prison staff is that this new drug is extremely difficult to detect. Unlike synthetic cannabinoids such as spice, which often leave a visible discolouration on paper, the newer substance leaves no obvious trace.
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“It used to be easy enough to spot when the paper had been soaked in a drug such as spice, as the edges would be discolored and tinged, but that’s not the case with whatever drug they are now smuggling in,” the source said.
It’s also suspected that some inmates may be receiving these drug-laced papers disguised as formal or solicitor’s letters, which are traditionally subject to less scrutiny by prison staff due to legal privacy protections.
“It has also been suggested that some are getting the drug sent to them on fake solicitors’ letters or formal letters,” the source added.
Although no interceptions of this new drug have been officially confirmed, the Sunday Mail reports that intelligence gathered within the prison system suggests the practice is ongoing and growing in frequency.
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said steps are being taken to tackle the issue.
“Prison staff have increased the use of random and intelligence-led cell searches on a daily basis. Our Canine Unit carries out searches around the prisons, including a greater focus on searching deliveries into prisons.”
This smuggling method follows a pattern that has been noticed in other countries as well. In the United Kingdom, prison authorities have reported inmates smoking or ingesting letters and greeting cards soaked in spice. For example, in 2018, the BBC reported increased incidents where prisoners used drug-laced mail to consume synthetic substances that were difficult to detect by standard security measures.
Similarly, in the United States, there have been documented cases where synthetic drugs were smuggled into correctional facilities via letters or paper products soaked in narcotics. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned that such innovative smuggling methods pose significant challenges to prison security and inmate health, with incidents reported in several state prison systems.
