London: One in seven of the 74,000 inmates of British jails is a foreigner of whom the Indians count 204 and the Pakistanis, 353.

Overcrowded jails in England and Wales house people from more than 160 countries after a steady increase in foreigners convicted since the late 1990s.

The latest figures indicated that the percentage of foreign citizens - anyone without a UK passport - in the 138 jails has risen from 8 per cent in 1999 to 13.1 per cent in 2003.

While crime of Asians imprisoned is not revealed, the maximum number of the foreign citizens in British jails – from Jamaica 2,795 including 434 women - was imprisoned on charges of drug smuggling.

Wandsworth jail in London has the largest concentration of Jamaican prisoners with 400 on its wing. Recently the jail had to employ a Mongolian translator to help a prisoner.

However, Morton Hall women's prison, at Swinderby, Lincolnshire, has the first majority foreign population, with 65 per cent of the 350 population foreign citizens, and with 54 per cent from countries outside the EU and 140 from Jamaica.

As part of a fresh move against drug mules, Britain plans to scan all suspicious passengers flying from eight Caribbean islands to Britain. The initiative comes after a successful experiment in Jamaica resulted in a significant fall in the number of people smuggling drug into Britain inside their bodies.

PTI