Prison officers are to be armed with new "invisible'' technology to start weeding out drugs from Bermuda's jails.

Both guards and inmates will be searched using the "sniffers'' -- $60,000 hand-held detectors which can trace two billionths of a gram of drugs.

Premier Pamela Gordon, Finance Minister Grant Gibbons and Home Affairs Minister Maxwell Burgess tested the hi-tech equipment yesterday.

They were told how the scanners had already been adopted in prisons in 20 US states.

Customs and Police are already hoping Government can free enough cash so they can both keep two scanners.

The Prison Service also have an order in for one scanner, as officials try to combat the growing menace of drugs in jails.

Prisons Commissioner Edward Dyer was unavailable for comment yesterday, although he attended the tests hosted by Hamilton Customs.

And scanner expert Dave Martinak told him how the scanners -- which use strands of ion to trace invisible particles -- could be used in prisons.

Mr. Martinak, vice president of sales and marketing for Canadian firm Barringer Research, said: "There have been a lot of good programmes aimed at drugs detection based in the US corrections environment.

"Across the US and Europe, prison officials are turning to this trace equipment as part of a new emphasis to reduce drug use in jails.

"Drugs can lead to potential violence within prisons but these scanners can help provide a much safer environment.

"That's not just for the inmates but also for the guards. Prisons are an ideal venue in which the equipment can be used.

"There are a number of ways drugs can be smuggled into prisons, through visitors, inmates, cargo or food shipments.

"The scanners are tools which can be used randomly to test prisoners and officers. They pick up invisible particles, the tiniest traces of drugs or explosives.'' The Royal Gazette revealed earlier this year that the scourge of drugs was still plaguing the Westgate Correctional Facility.

Chief Justice Austin Ward ordered a review and top prisons officials promised a crackdown.

Commissioner Mr. Dyer even opened a hotline in his own office for anyone with information about inmates or officers involved in drug smuggling.

Drug detector passes test More recently, there have been fears that the Westgate metal detector is out of order.

And guards were ordered to tighten up security by the Home Affairs Minister last week, after a prisoner leaving court threw a hairbrush at a Royal Gazette photographer.

Customs drugbusters also plan to use the new scanning devices as part of on-going operations to track smugglers on cruise ships.

A 13-strong gang of Jamaicans was busted in New York last month after surveillance operations on the Zenith , Horizon , Norwegian Crown and Norwegian Majesty .

Officers said the scanner would aid in the fight against international traffickers.

A cotton swab is fed into the machine and the device lights up within five seconds if a drug is detected.

Within a few more seconds, the sniffer shows what type of drug has been traced.