Prisons to ban visitors from bringing fruit

From December 1, visitors will not be allowed to take fruit for prisoners, because drugs and other contraband items are being smuggled inside them.

Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson imposed the ban on visitors after marijuana was found inside grapefruit at the Maximum Security Prison last week.

He believes this type of smuggling had been going on for a very long time undetected and the time has come to deal head-on with it.

“As of December 1, all fruits will be purchased at the prison canteen. No longer will public visitors be allowed to bring in fruits,” he said, adding that he had decided to give a grace period to let visitors get accustomed to the fact that they will have to buy fruit from the canteens.

He said the prisons are now contracting suppliers for the canteens.

Last Wednesday officers at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca seized four apples stuffed with four packets of marijuana weighing 88 grams.

A 22-year-old man of Kelly Village, Caroni was arrested and handed over to Arouca police.

Around 1 pm on Wednesday a prison officer was scanning visitors at the prison when he saw a visitor with a bag containing the four apples, which appeared unusually large. On cutting the apples he discovered that each one contained a packet of marijuana. Arouca police were called in and the suspected smuggler was arrested.

Last week officers detained a man who tried to smuggle marijuana stuffed inside grapefruit.

Wilson said, “It is unfortunate that visitors continue to attempt to bring illegal items into the prisons. We have increased security at all our institutions and as such it would be extremely difficult to escape unscathed.

“It would appear that this is a new trend being used by visitors, based on the fact that we have been monitoring officers who may have also been involved in trafficking, and we know that people are coming up with creative ideas of smuggling drugs and contraband into the prison. But this will not be tolerated.”

Yesterday fruit vendors who carried out a thriving trade at the prisons at Golden Grove and Port of Spain expressed sadness over the decision, saying it will affect their sales. They said they have been earning a living selling fruit close to the prisons because they knew there was a market for it. Some of them are hoping to meet with Wilson to discuss the possibility of supplying the prisons.

Visitors to prisoners are allowed to bring fruit such as bananas, apples, grapes, pawpaw and pineapples. They are only allowed to bring three of each.