The Sunday World understands officers discovered a parcel containing a haul of phones, chargers, drugs, sim cards and USB sticks in a waste management area on Thursday.
Sources have confirmed to the Sunday World that a number of prisoners, including a low-level Cork based thug and a Lithuanian criminal, are thought to be behind the shipment.
“This is a major blow to what appears to have been a regular supply route for these criminals,” a source told the Sunday World.
“It appears this drone may have been coming into this area and making drops on a regular basis.
“After the haul was recovered, CCTV recorded in the area was gone through and the drone could be seen making the drop early in the morning.
“With the overcrowding in the prison as bad as it is at the moment, the demand for phones and drugs is through the roof.
“But when shipments like these get in, they cause all kinds of problems including turf wars for control of a very lucrative supply chain.”
Thursday’s haul of contraband in Cork followed the seizure of drones in Limerick Prison on Saturday last and Wednesday of this week.
In a statement. a spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said: “The Irish Prison Service is committed to preventing the access of contraband, including drugs into prisons and continues to be a high priority for the Irish Prison Service.
“The Irish Prison Service has committed to continuing to invest in new technologies and measures to support our efforts to keep contraband out of prisons.
“The Irish Prison Service continues to have high level engagement and the sharing of intelligence with An Garda Síochána on a regular basis which is resulting in the seizure of contraband, arrests and significant disruption to organised crime involved in smuggling contraband into Irish Prisons.
“An Garda Síochána continues to support the Irish Prison Service operationally with ongoing operations in each relevant Garda Division, including Operation Throwover which is supporting the Irish Prison Service at Prisons nationwide.
“Operations such as Operation Throwover are intended to disrupt, interdict and prosecute attempts to introduce contraband into prisons.
“Prison staff have increased the use of random and intelligence led cell searches on a daily basis.
“Our Canine Unit carry out searches around the prisons, including a greater focus on searching deliveries into prisons.
“There is a free confidential telephone line (1800 855 717) and text line (086 180 2449) which is operational.”