By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent
Prisoners caught using so-called "legal highs" will face tougher penalties following a huge increase in the use of the drugs inside jails.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has warned that the trend could be driving a spike in violence among inmates, which has resulted in prison staff being injured.
Mr Grayling told Sky News that he wanted to make sure that when legal highs were found in prisons, it was treated as seriously as if it were heroin.
It comes alongside figures that show a 27-fold increase in seizures of these "new psychoactive substances" in prisons, from just 16 in 2010 to 436 in 2014.
Under the new crackdown offenders could face prosecution, have their jail sentences extended by up to 42 days, be segregated from other prisoners, confined to their cells for 21 days, placed in higher security prisons or banned from any physical contact with visitors.
The new powers will be outlined in guidance sent to prison governors in England and Wales this week by the Ministry of Justice.
It comes as Sky News obtained exclusive access to HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire during a major operation that saw 60 National Crime Agency officers and extra police drafted into the prison to try to tackle the problem.
Dawn raids were carried out on cells, while every vehicle and person entering the site was searched.
Sniffer dogs were used in the operation, which uncovered a number of packages of "legal highs", alongside smaller amounts of cannabis, mobile phones and weapons.
Staff told Sky News that there had been a large rise in the use of legal highs, with inmates acting erratically and violently when high.
One prison officer described prisoners as displaying "incredible amounts of strength" and "aggression" after taking the drugs – which can be smuggled in by visitors or even thrown over the walls.
The prison governor, Susan Howard, said the operation had focused on legal highs because of concerns about the effects.
She said it was not just the risk to her staff, but also to the prisoners themselves who could suffer raised heartbeats, strokes or even put themselves at danger of death.
"A tiny amount of this could have catastrophic effects," she said, pointing to seized drugs, which are known by street names such as "Spice" and "Black Mamba".
Mr Grayling described the drug abuse as a "new phenomenon".
He added: "What we're also hearing is that these substances seem to be part of the problem around increasing violence in our prison estate.
"No one should be under any illusion how dangerous the abuse of any drug is. We are determined to make sure governors have every power at their disposal to detect supply, punish those found using or dealing, and enforce a zero tolerance approach."
The drugs are popular because they are difficult to detect as they are odourless and sniffer dogs have not been trained up to identify them.
Under the plans dozens of specialist dog teams will undergo training to search for these synthetic drugs.
A new project will also mean 10,000 urine samples will be tested for them in 10 prisons in northwest England.
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