W2C-010 Sunday Life 2-0.txt
UDA STEAL JAIL KEYS Alan Murray

Security at Crumlin Road prison in Belfast was in chaos last night after loyalists smuggled a set of prison keys out of the jail.

The major security lapse revealed to Sunday Life yesterday adds a further dangerous dimension to the already grim picture in the province's jail system.

The four keys on a copper ring are believed to have been lost by a warder in the jail which loyalist sources say is tense because of rumours that a quantity of Semtex was found in B wing a month ago.

In a written communication smuggled out of the jail by UDA prisoners along with the keys, they claim they are "sacrificial sheep" in a security game being played by the authorities to try and trap IRA bombers.

They allege that there have been constant movements of IRA remand prisoners over the last four weeks because of the fear that "further" quantities of the deadly explosive are in the jail.

And they fear an explosion similar to the blast in November 1991 which killed two loyalist prisoners in a dining room is being planned by republicans.

The prisoners say in the smuggled letter that they want the suspected IRA bombers to be put in specially built cells.

"Isolate these men and call in the RUC to investigate", they demand.

They claim that Semtex and what they say was a "firing pack" was found in B wing over three weeks ago and that the set of keys was lost by a warder during searches.

They say some Republicans were put into cells with hidden microphones of eavesdropping purposes in a bid to discover where other quantities of explosives were hidden.

When it was discovered the keys had been lost, major searches of B wing were launched but the keys were successfully concealed by prisoners.

"If they can't find a bunch of keys, what chance have they of finding Semtex"," the smuggled letter asks.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Office confirmed that a set of keys was lost in the jail and had not been found.

"Appropriate action has been taken to ensure the lost keys are no longer of any use"."

The prison authorities denied that any Semtex has been found in the jail in recent weeks.
