Suspicious package at NI jail declared a hoax
Visitors to a high security jail in the North were trapped inside by a security alert sparked by a hoax bomb today.
British army bomb disposal experts were called to Maghaberry Prison in Co Antrim after a package delivered in the post was declared suspicious when wires and batteries were spotted as it was put through a scanner at a perimeter gate.
A spokesman for the Prison Service said about 70 visitors were unable to get to their cars and leave until the alert was over.
Later, the security alert ended and the trapped visitors were able to leave.
The Prison Service said the suspect package had been declared a hoax.
Afternoon visits were reinstated, and anyone who had scrapped plans to see an inmate today would have them honoured at a later date, said a spokesman.
Prison life for inmates continued as normal except for the missed visits.
The Prison Service spokesman declined to say if the package had been addressed to an inmate or member of the jail’s staff.
