Prison officers under surveillance

A TOUGH-TALKING Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson yesterday sent a strong warning to rogue prison officers, especially those at the Maximum Security Prison (MSP): all are being kept under close watch, so think twice before trying to smuggle contraband inside.

Wilson said two prison officers were held on Thursday night at MSP, bringing to 14 the number of officers arrested and charged for smuggling contraband into the prison system this year.

He said, “I would advise rogue officers to think twice about trying to beat the system, because we are prepared to get rid of every rogue officer. That is our mantra going into 2019...to get rid of every rogue officer.”

Wilson said the MSP at Golden Grove, Arouca, has been deemed the prison where most smuggling takes place and as a result, intelligence-gathering to weed out the culprits is focused there.

On Thursday at 5 pm, two prison officers with several years of service were held with packets of cigarettes and cell phones. They were handed over to Arouca police.