A routine search conducted at the Lusignan Prison on Friday has unearthed yet another set of contraband items, including pepper sauce and syringes.
The search was carried out by ranks of the Joint Services between 05:30h and 08:10h.
According to reports reaching Guyana Times, the following are among the illegal items found at the East Coast Demerara penitentiary: six earpieces; a quantity of razor blades; 17 chargers; 24 lighters; five cells phones; a quantity of wire; 10 improvised weapons; eight metal spoons; two pairs of scissors; one plastic knife; two nail clips; six syringes with needles; a quantity of Ziplock bags; six bottles of pepper sauce; one pack of cards; three bottles of medicine; four bottles of oil with
The illegal items unearthed during Friday’s search at Lusignan Prison
suspected cannabis seeds; one memory card; three mirrors and one wrist watch.
These finds come on the heels of authorities trying to curb the smuggling of contraband items into prisons, which remains a perennial problem within the penal system. In fact, only last month, a similar search conducted at the Lusignan Prison saw authorities clearing the facility of a number of sharp weapons, such as knife, scissors and blades.
During that three-hour search, the ranks found: three cell phones; two cell phone batteries; 27 cell phone chargers; four phone casings; four ear pieces; one memory card; three sim cards; one pocket knife; four pairs of scissors; two packs of needles; a quantity of razor blades; two hacksaw blades; 13 improvised weapons; two mirrors; four metal spoons; 24 lighters; a quantity of cigarettes; four Ziplock bags with marijuana, and a quantity of wires.
The authorities have been working to curb the practice of illegal items finding their way into prisons, which is said to be a “big business”, and their efforts have resulted in several prison officers having been caught facilitating the illegal trade.
In fact, Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, disclosed during a press conference last month that five prison officers have been relieved of their duties after they had been fingered in an incident whereby a parcel containing cannabis had been thrown into the Lusignan Prison Holding Bay area.
He said, “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 (them).”
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, expressing anger at the increasing attempts to smuggle contraband items into the prisons, has blamed possible collusion between prison officers and inmates. He noted that requests have been made for the procurement of scanners to be installed at the entry and exist points of the various prison facilities.
