Prisoner's Bebo site closed down after online profile updated while in custody

THE BEBO website of a prisoner in Limerick Prison has been closed down after authorities discovered that his online profile had been updated since he was remanded in custody earlier this summer.

The closure of the site follows the launch of an inquiry into how recent images of Liam Keane (23), Singland Gardens, Ballysimon, Limerick, were uploaded on to the site. At least one picture was apparently taken on a mobile phone in a prison cell.

It could not be confirmed yesterday if prison authorities had ordered the removal of the site, or if Keane's associates deleted his profile amid publicity over the affair.

Prison sources said Keane, who was remanded in custody this May for possession of a loaded Glock pistol, was sending images of himself to another person outside the prison, who then updated his Bebo site.

A mobile phone was seized by gardaí in July and Keane's cell was searched again this week, following media reports.Keane has now been denied routine privileges of prison visits, phone calls and recreational time for one month.

"His cell has been searched again and no phone has been found. The phone was discovered in July on a routine search; it wasn't on foot of a tip-off or suspicions," said the prison source.

However, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said: "Until we're absolutely satisfied that there is no other phone, the case will remain open."

According to IPS figures, more than 2,000 mobile phones were seized by prison authorities last year and some 255 phones were seized in Limerick Prison - the second-highest in the country after the 718 phones discovered in Mountjoy.

Since May 2007 the Prisons Act has made it an offence to have a telecommunications device in prison, whereby the offender may be fined €5,000 and imprisoned for one year by the District Court, or both.

On conviction on indictment, a fine of €10,000 or imprisonment for five years or both may be imposed in the Circuit Court.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times