The Home Affairs Ministry said today that additional drug tests and searches at the prisons, made in the wake of a declaration by a Polish inmate, had proved negative.

The Police had claimed in court that 90 per cent of inmates were on drugs.

The ministry said the police were interviewing the Pole about his allegations.
Extra drug searches had been made in various sections of the prisons but no drugs were found.

The ministry pointed out that last year, 1,125 urine tests were made on prisoners. This year, over 400 had already been carried out. This contrasted with the situation under the previous government, when the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction had reported that since 2009, drug tests were not regularly carried out.Mr Justice Michael Mallia in the Bickle prisons drugs case had also said that was not just a verdict against Ms Bickle, but the then government itself.

The ministry said six sniffer dogs will be deployed at the prisons in September. The dogs were bought after the former administration allowed the dogs then based at the prisons to become the prisoners’ pets, the ministry said.