Ten prisoners are continuing to be monitored after overdosing on drugs at Portlaoise Prison.
The inmates were taken to hospital in a serious condition following a major incident at the jail on Tuesday afternoon.
Three of the men are being treated in intensive care.
It’s suspected the inmates took a lab-produced opioid which is extremely potent, even in small doses.
Tests are being carried out on a quantity of drugs which were found in a cell in the 'C' wing of the jail.
Nitazine has been associated with previous overdoses, one of those proved fatal.
Seamus Boland, Garda Detective Chief Superintendent, said the use of the synthetic drug is becoming an unfortunate trend:
"There are, and have been, very, very high-level meetings that have been taking place over a protracted period in relation to the difficulties.
"The issues in Portlaoise Prison yesterday feed back into the dangers of the synthetic opioids. These synthetic opioids thave been available and have been causing similar problems".
An ambulance leaving Portlaoise Prison in County Laois after a series of overdoses at the jail, 13-08-2024. Image: PA Images / AlamyThe prison service is waiting on the results of the analysis test before confirming what the substance is in this case.
Three weeks ago the Irish Prison Service issued an urgent drug alert to all prisons due to an analysis conducted by the HSE National Drug Treatment Centre Laboratory which confirmed the presence of a nitazene-type drug in prisons.
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) said it's working closely with the HSE following a number of overdoses in Portlaoise Prison, and said it's being more vigilant for drugs and drug use across the service.
The IPS has secured extra naloxone kits, a prescription medicine that temporarily reverses the effects of opioids.
An information campaign has also been launched by the prison service warning people of the dangers of drugs.
