Prison officers attached to the New Amsterdam Prison were able to intercept a haversack that was filled with contraband, including marijuana after it was reportedly thrown over the prison fence around 4:16h on Wednesday morning.
According to the Director or Prisons Gladwin Samuels, the haversack was filled to the brim with, among other things, three parcels of marijuana, 32 packs of cigarettes and two bottles of white rum.
He said that the police were called in and an investigation is currently ongoing.
Ever since the July 9, 2017 Camp Street prison conflagration, which resulted in prisoners being transported to the correctional institutions countrywide, the smuggling and attempted smuggling of contraband have become prevalent.
Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan has since expressed absolute anger at the upsurge in cases regarding the smuggling and attempted smuggling of contraband into prisons countrywide.
“You get angry at what’s happening, you feel a sense of despair but really it just goes to show the quality of some of our prison officers that allow that to happen,” he was recorded in the media saying, last Friday.
He had also indicated that he has been having discussions with the Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, so as to have funds allocated in the next budget presentation towards the purchasing of scanners.
He intends to have these implemented at the entrances of each Prison.
“I now have to get technological about the thing, you have to get scanners at the doors that can pick up these things because I don’t think you can collude with scanners but the thing has to get that far now and I have been speaking to the Ministry of Finance for the next budget process 2019 that we buy scanners for those doors that are entry and exit points at these prisons” he had explained.
In addition to civilians being implicated in the smuggling of contraband into the prisons, a number of ranks attached to the Joint Services have been caught red handed and charged.
