More weapons, contraband unearthed during joint operation at Lusignan Prison
More illegal items were unearthed at the Lusignan Prison and adjoining quarantine section on Thursday following a joint operation between the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) and the Joint Services to address smuggling at the penitentiary.
Based on reports, the operation lasted two hours within the confines of the prison.
During the raid, 17 improvised weapons, four metal spoons, 18 cigarettes, one cellular phone, one memory card, 10 lighters, two broken mirrors, three phone chargers, one earpiece, and six bottles of fermented wine were found.
The improvised weapons and other items found on Thursday
Additionally, 144 packets and a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be those of cannabis were found. The suspected cannabis amounted to 125 grams.
All items were taken to the Vigilance Police Station and lodged.
Only on Tuesday, acting Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot stated that joint operations between the GPS and the Joint Services would primarily address the smuggling of contraband items into the various penitentiaries.
He related that after realising the amount of skulduggery that is taking place at the prisons, a decision was taken to conduct frequent searches with the hope of putting a dent in the smuggling ring.
The fermented wine found in the prison during the raid
Elliot explained that the implementation of the raids has been helping to reduce the number of improvised weapons, phones, and cannabis among other items being found. When asked to comment on possible collusion between inmates and prison officers, he had stated, “Based on intelligence, yes, this have been happening, that is why we are working to reduce that…that is why these searches are being conducted to retrieve whatever items are within the prisons”.
Over the past month, the Joint Services have unearthed almost 100 improvised weapons along with large quantities of ganja, razor blades, cigarettes, metal objects, and lighters.
Previously on Monday, a raid was conducted where a number of contraband items were unearthed at the New Amsterdam Prison. Among the items found were seven improvised weapons, a quantity of razor blades, and two grams of cannabis. Additionally, ranks also discovered one cellular phone, 20 lighters, pepper sauce and two cellphone chargers.
Prior to the search at New Amsterdam, 26 knives, 44 “jukas”, 19 lighters, six pairs of scissors, 12 cellphones, two SIM cards, two memory cards, five razor blades, a quantity of cellphone parts, 10 cellphone chargers, a quantity of metal objects, a quantity of wires, and 83 small transparent ziplock bags containing ganja were found during a search at Lusignan Prison.
