LONDON: The Ministry of Justice confirmed the drugs had been found inside HMP Humber, near Brough, since October after prison officers carried out searches. It is understood much of it was the former legal high Spice, which has been described as rife in prisons.
The Prison Service said: “Vigilant staff at HMP Humber have recovered a number of packages containing contraband over the past months following intelligence-led searches.
“This includes mandatory drug testing for prisoners with extra time behind bars for those caught using banned substances, tough new laws to deal with people smuggling new psychoactive substances into jails and the increased use of sniffer dogs and cell searches across the estate.
“These measures alongside 2,500 extra frontline prison staff will help make prisons safer and cut reoffending.”
An inspection held in 2015 found drug use was common and described the jail as “not sufficiently safe”, with a high number of assaults on staff.
An action plan submitted by governors at the prison in February said a violence reduction strategy had been established.
It said: “Violent incidents are recorded on the daily briefing sheet and reviewed on a daily basis. All men found to be displaying antisocial behaviour will be placed on a compact which is managed daily and reviewed weekly by wing managers.”
It added a full review of the supply of drugs inside the prison had been conducted and several measures are now in place to tackle the problem.
“Intelligence led searching is now conducted promptly,” it said. “A supply reduction strategy is in place and actions identified are being implemented via the monthly supply reduction meeting. The meeting is attended by key stakeholders who have responsibility for each element of the strategy, for example, security, healthcare, drug and alcohol service, OMU and safety.”
