Suspected overdoses at Portlaoise Prison ‘probably due to synthetic opioids’

The 10 suspected overdoses by people at Portlaoise Prison were probably linked to a synthetic opioid, a detective has said.

A number of prisoners were taken to hospital by ambulance on Tuesday while others received treatment at the prison.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) said it was “working closely” with the HSE in response to a number of overdose presentations in custody.

The incident came less than a month after the IPS issued an urgent drug alert to all prisons about a “nitazene-type substance” following a fatal overdose.

Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland said that he had raised concerns about synthetic opioids such as fentanyl at a meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use last September.

Though fentanyl has not become an issue in Ireland, he said that nitazene had caused “very significant incidents” and been responsible for “multiple overdoses”.

Mr Boland, who works at the Garda National Drug and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), said…