Nearly 600 drug cases recorded in Iceland's two prisons

Iceland's two prisons recorded 582 cases in which inmates were found using drugs between 2020 and 2025, according to a response from Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir to a parliamentary question.

Litla-Hraun accounted for 525 cases, while Hólmsheiði recorded 57. The highest annual total at Litla-Hraun came in 2021, with 123 cases. Hólmsheiði recorded its highest figure in 2022, with 19 cases.

The minister said the problem is more widespread at Litla-Hraun because Hólmsheiði, a purpose-built prison, offers better opportunities to prevent drugs from entering the facility. Violations of rules on addictive and narcotic substances can lead to disciplinary sanctions. They can also affect prisoners' chances of receiving day and family leave or serving sentences in open prisons.

Gunnlaugsdóttir said the law provides sufficient authority to respond to drug use in prisons. However, she said it has proved difficult to fully separate individuals and groups at Litla-Hraun, Iceland's largest prison. That has made it harder to contain drug use, complicated treatment work, harmed the safety of prisoners and staff, and increased the risk of violence inside the prison.

The minister said a new prison at Stóra-Hraun should make it easier to respond to the problem. Litla-Hraun already operates a treatment unit and provides daily support to prisoners seeking help with addiction. Other prisons offer support sessions through prison treatment staff or a specialist mental-health team when inmates face combined mental-health and addiction problems.

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On the other hand, it has proved difficult to maintain full separation of individuals and groups at Litla-Hraun, the country's largest prison, among other consequences meaning that it is more difficult there than elsewhere to curb the spread of addictive and narcotic substances and almost impossible to prevent it completely. This makes treatment work more difficult, has a negative impact on the safety of prisoners and staff, and increases the likelihood of violence within the prison.