DRUG CHIEFS TO BE LOCKED UP IN 'MINI ALCATRAZ'

Special Isolation Units to Prevent Barons Doing Business Behind
Bars

DRUG traffickers are to be housed in a 'mini Alcatraz' to stop barons
running their operations from behind bars.

They will be kept in special isolation units as part of a crackdown on
a select band of criminals making huge profits out of the misery of
addicts.

The aim is to keep the drug barons separate from other inmates and
curb their influence on the illegal trade inside and outside the
prison walls.

The move, already been approved by Justice Minister Michael McDowell,
is one of a series of key measures to be published by the Government
later this month to confront the traffickers and gangland bosses.

A special unit, with the capacity to hold 20 remand prisoners, will be
opened initially at Cloverhill jail in west Dublin and will be
operated as a pilot project.

The hand-picked prisoners, who are all facing charges of possession of
drugs with intent to supply, contrary to section 15(A) of the drug
trafficking legislation, will be kept apart from other inmates at all
times.

They will even have their own exercise yard.

Tight restrictions will be placed on visits which will be screened to
prevent drugs being passed into the traffickers by family, friends or
associates.

The unit has been prepared and will become fully operational
shortly.

It is being described by prison officials as a "mini Alcatraz" within
Cloverhill.

A second unit, capable of holding a further 20 inmates, has also been
prepared for the move at the remand prison.

It will be opened after the impact of the pilot project has been
assessed and staff are satisfied there is a need to expand the facility.

Senior officials are currently finalising plans to open a similar unit
for convicted drug traffickers at another jail, probably in Portlaoise.

The plan is seen by officials as hugely significant in drastically
reducing the amount of drugs in circulation within the jail system.

The Cloverhill unit will be used to hold those who have been refused
bail by the courts and those who face serious drug charges.

One official said last night: "We want to eliminate the impression
that it is easier for addicts to secure drugs in prison that it is in
the outside community.

"Prisoners and their associates use a wide variety of methods to
smuggle drugs into the jails and it is very difficult to eliminate the
practice completely.

"But the job should be made a little easier by keeping the big dealers
apart from their addicted customers and the unit will also allow us to
keep a close watch on their movements and their contacts with the
outside world," he added.

The isolation units are being introduced alongside measures put in
force over the past year to crack down on drug smuggling in jails.

The prison authorities are also bracing themselves for an increase in
the number of drug traffickers being held in prison.

This is anticipated when the way is cleared for the courts to impose
tougher sentences on those convicted of having major shipments in
their possession.

The minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years for traffickers is expected
to be enforced more rigidly in the coming months.

A new legislative package, due to be announced at the end of the
month, is also aimed at jailing more drug dealers.