Authorities are on the hunt for a male who on Sunday attempted to smuggle marijuana and cigarettes into the Lusignan Prison when he took there an outfit for an inmate to wear to court.
At about 14:30h on Sunday, the suspect went to the Lusignan Prison’s checkpoint to deliver the clothes and footwear. According to Prison Director (ag) Gladwin Samuels, whenever items are taken for prisoners, they have to be documented and scrutinised. He noted that the person delivering the items would have to produce a form of identification as part of the documentation process.
When the suspect arrived at the checkpoint on Sunday afternoon, he reportedly placed the items on the table for “booking,” and produced his National Identification Card. However, before the rank on duty could commence the booking process, he observed that the footwear looked strange.
Realising something was amiss, the suspect immediately grabbed his ID Card and bolted from the booking area, leaving the items behind. Further scrutiny of the items, revealed that four packets of cigarettes were in one side of the sneakers and 108 grams of marijuana in the other.
Although no details of the suspect had been documented, the officer was able to observe his physical description, and same will be provided to the Police.
The prisoner to whom the items were being delivered has been identified. He is housed in the facility’s holding bay.
Authorities at the Lusignan Penitentiary had, earlier on Sunday, unearthed a quantity of marijuana in the compound. Samuels said the ranks were conducting security checks at about 09:30h when they observed a black plastic bag in a drain next to the pig pen.
The bag was opened and searched, revealing a quantity of marijuana, lighters, bambu wrappers and small Ziploc bags.
The smuggling of contraband items remains a pervasive problem within the prison system, and while authorities have been working to curb the practice, several prison officers have been caught facilitating the illegal trade, which is said to be a “big business”.
In fact, Samuels disclosed on Friday last during a press briefing that five prison officers have been relieved of their duties after they had been fingered in the May 1, 2018 incident in which a parcel containing cannabis had been thrown into the Lusignan Prison Holding Bay area.
“…We also have five officers who have been interdicted from duty following the May 1 matter at the Holding Bay, where our CCTV footage would have revealed that a number of what is suspected to be contraband items were thrown into the Holding Bay facility… Based on the reviews we would have conducted, it is clear that the officers were working in collusion with each other in order to facilitate the movement of the suspected contraband into the prison,” he explained.
Samuels further disclosed that legal advice has been sought from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the way forward; and he has decried the behaviour of such ranks.
“It is quite disturbing, it is quite embarrassing, to have to face these situations on a daily basis; but this is not a situation whereby the prison administration is failing to act. The reality of it is, despite we would do vetting and so forth, these prison officers are drawn from communities…and for some strange reason, despite they’re given their dos and don’ts, they allow themselves to be sucked into the financial gains that these activities can bring you,” he said.
