Convicted prison orderly, prison officers implicated in marijuana hauls at Timehri, New Amsterdam Prisons

Last Updated on Wednesday, 3 October 2018, 15:51 by Denis Chabrol

A prison orderly, who is serving a jail term for buggery and rape, and two prison officers at the Timehri and New Amsterdam Prisons have been implicated in the smuggling of marijuana into those penitentiaries.

At the Timehri Prison, a prison officer was Wednesday morning arrested after a prison orderly, who is serving a 20-year sentence for buggery and rape, claimed that he was given a 10 kilogrammes butter bucket containing ziplock bags and two juice bottles containing suspected marijuana.

Guyana Police Force investigators were told that prison authorities saw the man moments earlier with the bucket and when questioned, he said he received the the marijuana from a prison officer at the Timehri Prison.

The orderly reportedly took the prison officers to a storeroom, under the stairs of the Administrative Building
where two Tampico juice plastic bottles ,containing cannabis ,were seen.

“The Prison Officer in question has since denied any knowledge of the cannabis which weighed 584 grams ; nevertheless he has been taken into Police custody pending the investigation,” police said.

At the New Amsterdam Prison, a prison officer has been arrested in connection with the discovery of 1,032 grammes of marijuana and 39 packets of cigarettes found in that jail.

“From video evidence he was seen in possession of the parcels that came over the prison fence. He then conspired with prisoners to secure same in the prison kitchen,” Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels said.

Samuels said the prison officer has since admitted to being linked to the prohibited items. “In my telephone interview with the suspect, he admitted his involvement. According to him, the items were to be delivered to a specific prisoner,” Samuels added.

A manager called in other authorities, a search was conducted and the items found.

A middle manager, acted on information received and caused a search to be conducted. The items were then discovered.