THOUSANDS of drugs including pills, crack cocaine and heroin have been seized from inmates within Greenock Prison over the last two years, the Telegraph can reveal.

Nearly 12,000 illicit tablets — as well as steroids, street valium and the dangerous synthetic cannabinoid 'spice' — have been found and removed from prisoners at the jail since 2020.

Our investigation also found that a widely abused national phones-for-prisoners policy which saw Greenock firebomb gangster Robert Warnock plotting murderous attacks from behind bars has led to scores of seizures of illegal mobiles and SIM cards at Gateside.

A total of 22 weapons and 422 drugs seizures have taken place at HMP Greenock between 2020 and today.

The number of illicit pills confiscated by guards was more than 11,600 — and among those 1,272 were described as 'unidentified tablets'.

Scotland's shadow justice secretary — Greenock-born Conservative MSP Jamie Greene — described the figures obtained by the Tele under Freedom of Information laws as 'staggering' and demanded additional resources for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

Mr Greene said: "This investigation from the Greenock Telegraph reveals the huge number of illicit items that have made their way into Greenock Prison over the last two years.

"It includes multiple weapons and thousands of dangerous drugs.

"Whilst I commend the fantastic work of prison officers in seizing these items, it's staggering how many got there in the first place."

Mr Greene added: "The Greenock firebombing case demonstrated too well the dire consequence of not stopping these items getting into the hands of inmates.

"It's crucial that the SNP government gives our under-resourced prison staff the support and resources they need to make prisons safer for those within and out with their walls.

"It must also take its share of responsibility for giving out hackable mobile phones to prisoners in the first place, a decision which came at huge financial and criminal expense, despite repeated warnings about the implications of that decision."

The SPS spent £3.2m on a controversial initiative to give inmates across the country mobile phones during the pandemic.

Bombing orchestrator Warnock, 26, sourced an illicit SIM for the device issued to him and used it to direct his cohorts on the outside during a campaign of terror against relatives of an enemy.

A total of 172 unauthorised SIMs and 30 illegal phones have been removed from inmates at Greenock over the last two years.

The rundown 112-year-old jail held 188 prisoners in 2021 because water ingress forced bosses to close scores of cells and reduce its normal capacity of 242.

Our investigation has also shown that drugs such as etizolam (street valium) and a 'heroin mix' were intercepted after being mailed to inmates.

Herbal cannabis weighing 23.2 grams, as well as 27.4 grams of cannabis resin, 9.2 grams of cocaine, 1.2 grams of crack cocaine, 9.4 grams of heroin and 86 millilitres of steroids were seized.

Among the thousands of illicit tablets seized were the strong opioid painkiller buprenorphine and the anti-psychotic drug olanzapine.

A spokesperson for Justice Secretary Keith Brown accused the Conservatives of 'astonishing hypocrisy' over the seizures.

The spokesperson said: "On the one hand they demand more resources and spending while on the other they support their Tory Westminster colleagues in imposing austerity cuts to Scotland's budget since 2010.

"The Scottish Government continues to support the prison service in preventing illegal drugs and contraband from entering our prisons in what is a continuously evolving and dynamic area.

"The Scottish Prison Service has worked tirelessly to adapt its security measures and invested in technology such as Rapiscan machines to detect and deter the introduction of contraband from entering prisons, working closely with partner agencies to gather relevant intelligence."

An SPS spokesman said: "We have invested significantly in security and detection equipment, which has enabled us to create a safer and more secure environment for both those in our care and staff working in our prisons.

"Since the introduction of legislation on the photocopying of mail, towards the end of last year, incidents of drug taking have fallen 22 per cent from October 2021 to October 22, and drug-related ambulance calls by 58 per cent in the same period."