Two prison officers are now being investigated after it was found that they allegedly took a bribe from a civilian to have a package containing cannabis delivered to a prisoner.
The two men, who are presently in police custody, reportedly collected the parcel from an individual while they were on duty at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation on Sunday evening.
This is according to Prison Director, Gladwin Samuels who explained that “an operation was set up and the bus they [prison officers] were traveling in was stopped on the East Coast bus park area. A search was carried out by police and the suspected marijuana was found in a black bag in the possession of a prison officer.”
He further explained that the parcels contained seeds, leaves and stems suspected to be that of marijuana.
“The police carried out their required functions and when the two parcels were weighed it amounted to 1 pound,” Samuels said.
Moreover, he also disclosed that thus far, one of the officers in custody has confessed to having collected the item “to take for a prisoner to eat.”
“He said he was paid $20000,” the Prison Director informed media operatives.
Investigations are ongoing.
The integrity of the prisons, more so the prison wardens, have come under the spotlight of recent when images and videos, taken by inmates at the New Amsterdam Prison, were uploaded to social media showing them partying with expensive arrays of liquor, as well as gambling and smoking.
In one clip, a prisoner is filmed counting at least 12 single $5000 bills as he places them on a plate that was filled with what appeared to be cannabis and other prohibited substances.
Another clip showed the prisoners boasting about the “sweet life” that they are enjoying despite awaiting trial on rape, murder, robbery under arms, simply larceny, and gun-related offences.
There are those who see the prevailing lack of control in the prisons, in the context of 2016’s fire that resulted in the deaths of over a dozen prisoners, as well as last year’s jail break and fire that gutted most of the Camp Street Prison; and they have called for heads to roll.
