by Andrew Carey
A LITHUANIAN nurse was supplying drugs from her Limerick prison cell where she was being held on a charge alleging that she murdered her mother on Christmas Eve.
Greta Dudko (36) of Carpenterstown, Dublin 15 was in Limerick prison on October 9, 2012 when officers searched her cell and found heroin, cannabis herb and resin along with a quantity of prescription tablets and a mobile phone disguised as a BMW car key.
Limerick District Court was told that Ms Dudko was arrested and while she admitted possession of the phone and the drugs, she did not admit to supplying them to others .
Inspector Dermot O’Connor told Judge Eugene O’Kelly that Ms Dudko said she concealed the items and brought them into the prison because she was “in fear of threats and being bullied”.
Pleading guilty to the offences, defence counsel Mark Stacke said his client was on remand on a charge alleging that she murdered her mother on December 24, 2010.
He said the matters before the court were completely out of character for Ms Dudko who had no previous convictions and was a smart lady who has been utilising her time well.
“She had been on remand for 33 months now and in that time she has studied and attained many diplomas and qualifications. She even translates for the Prison Governor and is happy to do so. She also has a history of work and is a qualified nurse”, he said.
He added that Ms Dudko was “under immense pressure to bring the phone in for others but remained silent through fear”.
Judge O’Kelly said that it was a very “sophisticated device” and one that would be difficult to detect unless fully examined.
While Ms Dudko claimed her family were threatened while she was in prison, Inspector O’Connor said there was no evidence to support this as she “failed to elaborate on this in interview”.
She had been in the Dochas Centre for women in Dublin but was taken to Limerick Prison after she had returned from a weekly visit with her seven-year-old son.
Remarking that the ability of people in prison to get access to drugs was widespread, Judge O’Kelly said that “those who smuggle items were complicit and the court took a very serious view of it.
“She was caught with a wide variety of drugs in Limerick Prison after being given access to her son. It compromises the integrity of the prison security system to smuggle phones in – and this one in particular when disguised in the form of a car key. It must have come as some surprise to the officers.
Imposing a five month prison term for the possession of heroin for sale or supply, Judge O’Kelly said he “had doubts as to the reality she was being threatened as she remained silent”.
A four month jail term was also imposed for the possession of a mobile phone while in custody.
“Ms Dudko failed to elaborate and never made a complaint about claims she was being bullied and threatened. The integrity of the prison security is dependant on people not smuggling things in”, he said, before backdating the prison sentences to October 22, 2013.
