All prohibited items confiscated from prisoners’ cells

Hundreds of prohibited items were smuggled into cells

Phones, alcohol and weapons were all smuggled into the cells of prisoners across Merseyside and North Wales during the exercise. The ECHO examined public data published on the Ministry of Justice website to determine what and how many items were brought into cells at HMP Altcourse, HMP Liverpool and HMP Berwyn.

The most recent data covers incidents that occurred between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. Items confiscated included drugs, drug paraphernalia, cell phones, SIM cards, chargers, memory cards, other items related to mobile phones, alcohol, distillation equipment, tobacco, weapons, “other items” and “other digital items”.

The types of drugs found in prisons included cannabis, cocaine, ketamine, “psychoactive substances” including substances known as Spice, Pregablin, Tramadol, steroids, amphetamine, heroin, benzodiazepines, methadone and buprenorphine – an opioid used to treat opioid use disorder.

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HMP Liverpool and HMP Berwyn are managed by Her Majesty’s Prison Service and HMP Altcourse is operated by Sodexo, a private company. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the increase in seizures of items over the years was influenced by better security and a “wide range” of security measures.

A spokesperson for HMP Altcourse also said they were deploying a “wide range of robust procedures”. Here is the recent data on items confiscated between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024:

HMP alternative course

At Altcourse, a category B men’s prison in Fazakerley, there were 355 incidents involving drugs between this period. The greatest number of incidents involved cannabis, including the plant. The data reveals that there have been 160 incidents involving this drug.

There were 64 incidents involving “psychoactive substances” during this period. The Department of Justice has classified “psychoactive substances” as any substance capable of producing a psychoactive effect in a person who consumes it and is not an exempt substance. This also includes Spice.

Other drugs were also discovered, including one incident involving steroids, 17 incidents of cocaine and 40 incidents of ketamine. Other contraband items were found in the prison.

This included 47 incidents involving alcohol, 69 incidents involving chargers, 35 involving drug equipment, two involving distilling equipment, five involving memory cards, 108 involving mobile phones, 37 incidents involving SIM cars, 98 incidents involving tobacco and 100 incidents involving weapons.

A spokesperson for HMP Altcourse said: “Our staff deploy a range of robust procedures to prevent contraband items being brought into the prison and we constantly monitor these procedures. »

HMP Liverpool

At HMP Liverpool, the Category B/C facility located in Walton, there were 287 incidents involving drugs between the same period as above.

Like HMP Altcourse, cannabis was involved in the greatest number of incidents. According to the data, there were 165 incidents involving the drug. There were also 27 incidents involving “psychoactive substances” and 20 involving ketamine.

There have been a small number of incidents also involving drugs such as steroids, amphetamines and pregabalin. During the same period, there were 30 incidents involving alcohol, 105 incidents involving chargers, 33 incidents involving drug equipment, three involving distillation equipment, nine involving memory cards, 162 involving phones mobile phones, 79 incidents involving SIM cards, 116 incidents involving tobacco and 58 incidents. involving weapons.

HMP Berwyn

Wrexham Prison, HMP Berwyn, is where a number of Liverpool inmates are serving time for their crimes. There were 382 incidents involving drugs between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024.

“Psychoactive substances” are the drugs involved in the highest number of incidents during this period, with 173 recorded in the data. There were 73 incidents involving cannabis and six involving cocaine.

During the same period, there were 264 incidents involving alcohol, 25 incidents involving chargers, 65 incidents involving drug equipment, 15 involving distillation equipment, four involving memory cards, 40 involving phones mobile phones, 33 incidents involving SIM cards, 17 incidents involving tobacco and 197 incidents. involving weapons.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The availability of drugs and other illicit products in prisons is further evidence of the crisis inherited by the new government. We have a wide range of security measures that help us seize more contraband and our Prison Crime Task Force will further tackle drugs in prisons, including tackling serious crime and organized.