Drug busts: Wives and girlfriends smuggle in contraband in underwear

SNIFFER dogs at our prisons have found wives and girlfriends trying to smuggle bags of tobacco, ice or even heroin into the jail, usually stuffed into their bras.

Corrective Service Officers conduct drug searches with sniffer dogs at Silverwater Correction Centre yesterday. Picture: Tim Hunter.

SNIFFER dogs have made a series of dramatic busts outside our state’s jails — discovering wives and girlfriends trying to smuggle contraband to some of the state’s most hardened inmates, usually in balloons hidden in their bras.

But their bra-zen efforts are under greater scrutiny with the NSW Corrective Services’ elite Special Operations Group (SOG) and its drug dogs uncovering three major attempts in recent weeks by women to smuggle in contraband.

Last Sunday, two women visiting Goulburn jail were found with 6.4g of heroin, 306g of tobacco and 11.2g of opioid buprenorphine strips between them.

During the Silverwater search, a small clear bag with white crystal substance believed to be ice was located in a woman's handbag. NSW Police attended and issued a Field Court Attendance Notice.

A few weeks earlier, on September 16, another unannounced SOG operation sniffed out woman at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre with 57 strips of the opioid buprenorphine and 11 ecstasy tablets encased in three balloons that she had stuffed in her bra.

Another women visiting the South Coast Correctional Centre on August 7 was found with 8.4g of crystal hidden in a “large” drug-filled balloon secreted in her bra.

When The Sunday Telegraph visited Silverwater Correctional Centre yesterday morning as part of another search operation, a drug dog detected a rock of ice in the handbag of a woman visiting an inmate.

“They’ll try anything in terms of where they’ll hide it.”

The woman, who was handed over to police, claimed she was unaware the 0.5g rock was in her bag.

SOG general manager Steve Davis said contraband was found on both men and women, although balloons in bras had been a recent trend.

As for the kind of drugs, tobacco remained the hottest property to smuggle inside thanks to the smoking ban of two years ago ramping up its value on the black market, although heroin had also made a comeback.

Corrective Services officers conduct drug searches with sniffer dogs on visitors at the Silverwater Correction Centre yesterday. Picture: Tim Hunter

“There is a fair bit of ice, and a little bit of heroin but the big one is tobacco — everyone smokes,” Mr Davis said.

“They’ll try anything in terms of where they’ll hide it, internally, anywhere you can think of.

“But the dogs can still detect an odour and we are constantly training them to detect new scents that may lead to drugs.”

Since January, SOG has conducted more than 67,000 visitor searches with the raids resulting in 154 visitors being by police, with another 399 being denied entry for breaching contraband regulations.

“Prisoners and their visitors are clearly not getting the message.”

This included legal items such as tobacco, vitamins, food or clothing that were banned in jail.

Drug found during the searches included 911 strips of buprenorphine, 121g methamphetamine, 392g of marijuana and 2845g of tobacco.

The searches also snared 33 weapons, 11 firearm rounds, 422 syringes, 41 needles and 92 drug implements.

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Visitors also attempted to smuggle in 8775ml of alcohol, 532 tablets and 83g of powder.

Corrective Services Minister David Elliott said visitors attempting to smuggle in contraband faced two years in jail.

“The message is: Your best mate will become your cell mate if you are caught trying to smuggle in an illegal substance in jail,” he said.

“Although I’m confident we are getting on top of the war on contraband, this is an ongoing operation.

“Prisoners and their visitors are clearly not getting the message that the risk they face is more family trauma.”