Several dozens of deadly weapons, drugs, phones infiltrated into HMP
Some of the weapons found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019. (BVI News photo) Several weapons were among the contraband found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019. (BVI News photo) A variety of some of the contraband found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019. (BVI News photo) Dozens of cellular phones were among the contraband found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019. (BVI News photo) Several weapons were among the contraband found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019. (BVI News photo) Weapons recovered from Her Majesty’s Prison (BVI News Photo) Cell phones captured in evidence bags are those found on an inmate or in his/her cell. Those outside of the bags were found stashed around the prison but are not linked to anyone inmate. (BVI News photo) Some of the contraband found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019. Several weapons were among the contraband found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019. (BVI News photo) Cell phones captured in evidence bags are those found on an inmate or in his/her cell. Those outside of the bags were found stashed around the prison but are not linked to anyone inmate. (BVI News photo) Some of the contraband found at Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019.
In series of searches of Her Majesty’s Prison throughout 2019, authorities undercovered dozens of contraband — several of which are so dangerous, they could be used to inflict potentially fatal chop and stab wounds.
Among those weapons were a machete with a blade 10 to 12 inches long, multiple knives, several pairs of scissors and a variety of what prison officials described as cell-made shanks.
The shanks at the prison are typically made from nails found around the property. Inmates then sharpen these nails and affix them to makeshift handles made from wood, cloth, and in at least one case — a roll-on deodorant bottle.
Cellphones, drugs, and alcohol
The list of contraband recovered was not limited to weapons and also include several dozen cellular phones and cellphone chargers, cigarette lighters, drugs, alcohol, wrapping paper, among other things.
“The type of contraband is varying. We would sometimes find weapons made in the facility … Sometimes we find jail-brewed alcohol because the inmates do make alcohol while in jail. We do get drugs of varying kinds, but the more predominant one is marijuana. We would get cigarettes, telephones and explicit magazines and other items,” Superintendent of Prison Vern Garde told BVI News.
Some items smuggled by prison officers, prison mules
The head of the Balsam Ghut-based facility also told BVI News that these types of contraband are not unique to the BVI prison. But, a major question that weighs on the mind is how were they smuggled into the BVI’s penitentiary in the first place.
“Some means are through body cavities and that is why when inmates come into the prison on the first occasion, we do a strip and body search,” Garde explained.
“In some cases, the items come over the prison walls, in some cases, we do have officers who are not of the moral fabric that we expect them to be of and would traffic items into the prison. We would also have visitors operating as mules and bring in items into the prison, items being trafficked in with the garbage and other things,” he added.
“The dynamics are so complex that we have to be very creative if we have to fight against the contraband. But, all in all, we do a very good job of lessening the amount of contraband in the facility. Contraband is always a major issue in this and any other jail. Of course, we would like to be in some sort of a utopia where best practices are done involuntarily, but this is not how the world works. So that continues to be a major challenge, and we are working to counteract it,” Garde further reasoned.
What now?
With the items found in what the prison boss describes as a routine ‘sanitisation operation’, an investigation is then launched.
The bulk of the recovered contraband is then destroyed.
“Those that can lead to further charges we would keep them as exhibits, and those that don’t, we will log them and then destroy them. So we are this week going to exhibit, log and destroy all those items.”
Persons, including prison officers who are caught smuggling items into the prison, are dealt with via various means, including a non-renewal of their employment contract and by the law.
Editor’s Note:
Behind the Bars at Balo is a BVI News short-series that gives a closer look into the inner-workings of the Her Majesty’s Prison in Balsam Ghut. The news feature series seeks to explore inmate-life, prison operations, rehabilitative programmes, among other things.
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Whoaaa…
Those kinds of items/contraband are not unique to Balo, for god’s sake.
There infaltrations of such occur in every prison system throughout the world, none more so than in the US, UK, Southe America, and whole of the EU.
The Asians, though they have a tighter grip, still fail to a degree.
Why is even a news item then?
Don’t know who god you speaking of. People including those on social media the minute you go to type with a small g back space and put some respect on God’s name. It is God not god (god is an idol).
Do you write your name in lower case???????
Smh those inmates have LIFE good, I don’t care who want to say different. And it’s obvious it’s not run like a prison, but like a hotel
Did you mean, “short of words?” Contemplating: where did we go wrong? We are failing our youths? Although the buzz words by many, especially around election times are about helping the youths, helping the youths. Wider dialogue, plan of correction, and interventions are needed to reverse this trend.
We went wrong when we think it was all fun and laughing when they were being loud and ratchet. Then one day all that energy was stored up and released by them on our community. Backfired. Let’s not make ratchet behavior seems like it’s cool!!
Sounds like a future TV show
Shows the slackness. Are these criminals? These are not small items. These people have connections. Inside jobs. Small island work together. Unbelievable. Everyone needs replacing!
finally figured why i can’t find sunset at the shop
Knives were missing from the kitchen on many occasions did they search the prison when they went missing
Knives were missing from the kitchen on many occasions did they search the prison when they went missing.they never did nothing.
Prisons all over the world have this problem. I noticed the in house weapons but, how the heck they manage to get the regular house knives in. Look like every inmate have some type of weapon.
If I was a guard, Id be searching the cell of whomever had that stack of Cnotes! gotta be 5K
Its a prison….what u expect them to find.