Ramjattan blames Prison Officers for smuggling

Just over a week after the 94 illegal items were found at the Lusignan Prison, Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan has admitted to possible collusion between prison officers and prisoners.

“You get angry at what’s happening, you feel a sense of despair but really, it just goes to show the quality of some of our prison officers that allow that to happen,” the Security Minister while responding to questions from the media during an engagement at the Ministry’s boardroom on Friday.

Among the items found during the June 20 raid were 31 improvised weapons, eight cellphones, 3 ziploc bags with cannabis and a tattoo machine among other contraband items.

Two days later, on June 23, the police found a knife and a cutlass outside of the holding bay at the Lusignan Prison.

It is expected that the Ministry’s 2019 budget will include allocations for scanners which will be placed at the entrance and exits of prisons.

Minister Ramjattan believes this can significantly reduce the problem.

“I don’t think you can collude with scanners.”

He told the media that he has already requested that the Ministry of Finance include money for the scanners in the next National Budget.

On May 27, when two prison officers were arrested after they were found in possession of a black bag containing two parcels of marijuana.

One of the officers admitted to collecting the item to take for a prisoner as food. He told investigators that he was paid $20,000.