X-ray scanners being installed in the north's prisons have been described as a "huge step forward" in preventing drugs bring smuggled in for inmates.
The first of the high-tech full-body scanners was switched on at Maghaberry Prison on Tuesday, with others to go live at Hydebank and Magilligan prisons next month.
The machines are in line with the Department for Justice's drugs policy for prisons, which aims to reduce the supply of substances behind bars.
A Criminal Justice Inspection (CJI) NI review of Magilligan in Co Derry last year found 32 percent of prisoners responding to a a survey said they had developed a drug problem after arriving at the prison.
CJI chief inspector Jacqui Durkin said the Prison Service needed a strategy to prevent the flow of drugs into Magilligan.
Meanwhile, statistics revealed in November showed one-in-five prisoners at Maghaberry and Magilligan were in an opioid substitution programme, or on a waiting list for treatment.
The director general of the Prison Service, Ronnie Armour, said the new scanners, which are already in use in other UK prisons, were in response to the CJI inspection.
"Some people in our prisons are determined to traffic contraband into our establishments, however we are equally determined to stop them," he said, adding: "Our fight against illegal trafficking has taken a huge step forward."
The Department for Justice has identified preventing the flow of drugs into prisons as a key responsibility of the Prison Service.
"Apart from the health problems caused by drugs they also lead to intimidation and bullying in prisons and an unsafe environment for both staff and prisoners," a department spokesperson said.
"More widely, the pressure that might be applied to a prisoner's family and friends to traffick in drugs or pay for their habit can cause additional misery and hardship."
Mr Armour said the scanners "should be seen as a deterrent to those who wish to use their bodies to bring in drugs and other illegal items into our prisons".
He added: "This really has the potential to be a game changer in our efforts to thwart their efforts; it will assist in the detection and prosecution of offenders; and as a result will make our prisons safer for our staff, partner agencies and the people in our care."
Maghaberry Prison governor David Savage said a pilot of the machines in England and Scotland saw one-in-ten scans highlight contraband
"My message to anyone thinking of attempting to traffic contraband is simple – don’t do it, we will find it," he said.
