Ontario's Ministry of Safety and Correctional Services has confirmed three inmates at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre suffered drug overdoses over the weekend, while incarcerated.

The jail has been the scene of 14 deaths since 2009. The most recent was on March 31 of this year. Officials have not released the cause.

Few details about this past weekend's incidents were released in a written statement from officials at the ministry beyond confirming the drug overdoses.

"Thankfully as a result of the quick actions of our staff who administered naloxone all inmates were alert when leaving the detention centre on route to hospital," said the statement from spokesperson, Greg Flood. "The three inmates have returned to EMDC after being assessed at hospital. It would be inappropriate to comment further given health privacy."

Flood said the ministry "has policies and procedures in place to detect and deter contraband" from getting into the facility. "Staff are trained to be vigilant which includes frequent and thorough searches of any suspected contraband."

Despite those efforts, and the installation of a full-body scanner that can search for external and internal contraband, drugs continue to be accessed by inmates.

A canine unit has been deployed to "serve as a deterrent to contraband, such as drugs," said the ministry's statement.

The ministry is also trying a new ion scanners that can identify trace elements of drugs on inmate mail.