AN INFANT was temporarily kidnapped outside Dublin's Wheatfield prison and the child's mother was told she must smuggle a package of drugs to an inmate if she wanted her baby returned safely.

The Sunday Tribune understands that the woman, who was on her way into the prison to visit a loved one, was accosted by two men as she made her way into the jail several months ago.

The men caught the woman off-guard, grabbed her baby from her and told her the child would be returned safely to her if she delivered the package of drugs. It is understood that one of the men walked away with her baby while the other explained how she could smuggle the drugs in and gave her the name of the prisoner to ask to visit.

"The child was held hostage and she was forced to go into the prison," said a source.

For security reasons, the full details of what happened when the woman entered the prison with the package of drugs cannot be revealed. However, the woman left the jail soon after entering it and the men handed back over her child unharmed. The shocking incident was not reported to gardaí.

A source said that while the plan by the two men was amateurish and not well thought out, their actions were extremely dangerous and traumatising for the woman involved.

In a bid to halt threats being made against people in order to try and force them to smuggle drugs into prison, various security measures and a booked visits system was introduced. Previously, anyone could arrive at a prison on visiting day and provide the name of the person they wished to see. Now, people must book a visit in advance. A source confirmed that there were major problems at Irish jails with people being forced to deliver drugs to inmates under threat of violence. The introduction of booked visits, drugs-sniffer dogs and enhanced airport-style security measures has reduced these incidents.

"There have been many incidents where people are paid to bring in drugs to prisoners they've never even met before," said a prison source from Mountjoy. "Others have been forced to do it. Often, they have family members in the jail and they're told by people on the outside, 'Your Jimmy will get cut up if you don't bring in this package to so-and-so.' We're trying to put a stop to that."