Exclusive:
Prisoners are cooking up super-strong version of Spice in makeshift labs with anything they can get their hands on, including prescription drugs
Lags are cooking up new strains of zombie drug Spice 20 times stronger than the regular type. A prison report revealed the Breaking Bad-style operation is taking place in a secret lab behind bars. And jail chiefs are now scrambling to shut it down before the new crystal form of the drug wreaks havoc.
Spice, which can contain rat poison and solvents like glue, paint and cleaning fluids, is often smoked in a joint, cannabis-style. But enterprising lags have found a way to turn it into crystals and make it stronger by adding more chemicals – just like in Netflix series Breaking Bad, where a chemistry teacher sets up his own makeshift methamphetamine lab.
A jail source said: “Most of the time, prisoners smoke Spice through vapes but herbal spice is still doing the rounds and now crystal spice. Every time we think we have a handle on it, the ingredients change. Now, what we have is prisoners making their own versions in makeshift labs, bulking the drug up with anything they can lay their hands on. They are using prescription drugs they get for anything from ADHD to stomach cramps.”
Another source added: “The regular form of Spice is already highly potent so it’s extremely worrying to think what effect this could have on the men. It is thought the super-strong Spice is being produced at HMP Portland – a category C prison and young offender institution for adult males in Dorset.”
The development came after bosses installed a scanner that stopped Spice being smuggled in and another to check it was not carried in by rogue staff. A report by inspectors said: “Intelligence suggested Spice was being produced within the prison from crystal form. This is being closely monitored.”
It comes after six inmates died at HMP Parc in Bridgend, Wales, after taking a lethal dose of Spice.
The Ministry of Justice was contacted for comment. The Prison Service said HMP Portland is working hard to “build an environment where prisoners feel safe”. It added the jail is investing in new measures to stop drugs entering and using drug dogs to sniff out drugs inside.
