Heroin replacement "bupe strips" are being smuggled into NSW prisons, secreted in suits and shoes, with about a dozen incidents in the past six months.
Corrective Services NSW says prison staff have found the strips containing buprenorphine hidden inside shoulder pads, suit linings and shoes sent to inmates.
Prisoners in NSW wear prison-issued clothing but can be sent clothing such as suits for court appearances or external leave.
Nearly 300 bupe strips were found hidden inside sneakers sent to a prisoner on the the NSW mid-north coast while 150 were found stitched into the shoulder pads of a suit sent to a prisoner at John Morony Correctional Centre in Sydney's north west last month.
Each strip could be worth between $400 and $1000 in a maximum-security prison.
"Every illegal item stopped ensures a safer and more secure correctional environment for both staff and inmates," Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin said in a statement on Monday.
