Members of the Joint Services yesterday conducted raids for contraband at all the prisons across the country, uncovering phones and improvised weapons.
The Guyana Prison Service (GPS), in a press release issued yesterday, said “Operation Sanitize” was carried out between 06:00 hrs and 11:00 hrs and resulted in the discovery and seizure of a number of contraband items.
Among the items discovered were 17 cellular phones, 56 improvised weapons, 4 packs of cigarettes, a quantity of fermented wine and lighters.
The aim of the exercise, the release said, was to “sanitize” all the prisons of contraband items to ensure that there is no breach of the physical infrastructure and to sensitize prisoners about the negative impact of contraband in prison.
Director of the Prisons (ag) Nicklon Elliot, the release said, has pointed out that there has been a significant decrease in the number of contraband and prohibited items being found within the prisons.
He noted that the issue of contraband in the prison remains a concern for the prison directorate and that several security measures have been put in place to prevent and reduce contraband in prisons. “These measures are subject to periodic review,” the release said.
Elliot has warned prison officers, civilians and prisoners who seek to organize the entry of contraband into the prisons that they will be charged criminally and placed before the court, the release added.
