Improvised weapons, other contraband items found during prison raid

At least two improvised weapons were among several contraband items found during a raid at the New Amsterdam Prisons on Wednesday morning.
The search, which lasted from 6:00h to 8:00h, was conducted collaboratively by members of the Guyana Police Force and Prison Service within the male and female dormitories.

The items confiscated were five cellphones, ten cigarette lighters, two improvised weapons, three cellphone chargers, and 137 grams of ganja. The items were taken to, and lodged at, the Central Police Station.
Back in July, a Joint Services operation at the said penitentiary had unearthed a quantity of contraband items, including nine cell phones, one GT&T SIM card, a quantity of cigarettes, 11 lighters, one smoking utensil, nine improvised weapons, one pair of scissors, four metal spoons, one bucket of fermented wine, four bottles of processed wine, and 282 grams of cannabis.
In May 2022, the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) had introduced a stop-and-search initiative within the confines of each prison location in a bid to end the continued flow of contraband being smuggled into the prisons.
Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, had warned that members of the public who are found colluding in trafficking contraband into the various prisons countrywide would be arrested and placed before the courts.
He reminded that it is an offence under Section 53 (1) of the Prison Act for persons to throw any item over the prison fence, because it attracts a fine or a period of imprisonment.
Elliot indicated that the GPS would be erecting signs at strategic points outside of the prisons, warning the public to desist, and detailing the consequences attached to such an act.
Further, he mentioned that the Prison Administration and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) would be engaging residents living in close proximity to the various prisons on the situation. Further, he added that a built-up civilian population living in close proximity to the prisons would have contributed to the increased contraband items being smuggled into the prisons.
Meanwhile, the latest efforts from members of the public to smuggle contraband into a prison were thwarted by prison officers attached to the New Amsterdam Prison on May 16 and 17, 2023.
A bag containing 2275 grams of narcotics and 12 cartons of cigarettes was retrieved and handed over to the Police.
Back in January 2023, Sarafine Pitt of Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), a female prison officer, was charged after 604 grams of marijuana was discovered in the guard hut at the New Amsterdam Prison. Bail was granted to her in the sum of $100,000 after she denied the charge.