Scottish prisoners are using Facebook to obtain drugs behind bars, take pictures, and brag about their illegal activities. But now the fun’s over: Authorities are cracking down.
Inmates, convicted of various crimes, post the updates on mobile phones smuggled in to access the social networking site. They are asking visitors to bring in a plethora of narcotics, such as cocaine and valium. It’s part of a growing trend rocking Scottish prisons as it sees an uptick of inmates being caught with illegal materials.
An investigation by Scotland’s Daily Record revealed that the number of confiscations in prisons has hit a 10-year high, which the Scottish Prison Service explains is due to an increase in drug detection.
Convicted killer John Edgar posted a status update on his page, writing that he’s anticipating a “buket,” slang for a stash of hash. “Gym done football done bring on the buket happydaze,” he joyfully explained.
Scott Nesbitt, another prisoner, who slashed a person across the face with a sword, is using his Facebook under an alias. “Chillin skining a doobwa,” he wrote—meaning he’s smoking a doobie. In a separate post, he bragged about sitting in prison and “chillaxin” with a joint, listening to rapper Biggie Smalls.
Prisoners bragging of the drugs didn’t stop with those two men. Other posts uncovered by the newspaper reveal an inmate smoking up behind bars and taking “blues,” a reference to valium.
These recent flurry of posts uncovered by the newspaper comes a month after Scottish officials claimed to have shuttered 200 Facebook accounts that inmates used via mobile phones. More than five prisoners in the country’s jail are busted daily, the newspaper said, totally 2,000 a year.
A Scottish Prison System spokesperson said the organization is actively trying to end this trend.
“What kind of message does it send to the victims of crime that prisoners can openly brag about the kind of life they are living behind bars?” said spokesman Lewis MacDonald. “It is time we got serious about taking drugs out of prison and cracked down on the use of mobile phones by prisoners.”
Photo via Hudson_Ranga/Hashgram