Mandya: An attempt to smuggle suspected narcotics into the district prison in Mandya was foiled Wednesday evening when prison staff found drugs concealed inside soap bars during a routine inspection.Based on a complaint from jail authorities, Mandya West police registered a case and launched an investigation.According to prison officials, the incident occurred during the evening visitation session with inmate Mohammed Ibrahim. His father Jabbar Sab, mother Dilshad Begum, and friends Madan and Masood met him as scheduled. After the visit ended around 5.35pm, Madan and Masood handed over a bag containing clothes, two soap bars, five shampoo sachets and food items.During the mandatory security check, prison gatekeeper R Shivaraja noticed suspicious objects hidden inside the soap bars. Officials allegedly recovered about 10gm suspected ganja and nearly one gram of a white crystalline substance suspected to be MDMA.The seizure was reported to prison superintendent M Shanthamma, who verified the contraband at the prison gate and alerted senior prison department officials.Speaking to TOI, Shanthamma said the drugs had been concealed inside soap bars. “Our staff detected the drugs during inspection and immediately alerted the police, who registered an FIR and initiated action against the accused,” she said.Shanthamma said vigilance had been stepped up to prevent drugs from entering the prison. She noted that while earlier attempts involved throwing contraband over the prison walls, tighter surveillance had curbed that route, forcing smugglers to adopt new methods.“Now they are using various means to supply drugs to prisoners. Earlier, attempts were also made through biscuit packets and double-layer slippers,” she said.
