Samuels breaks up rum drinking prison gang
New Amsterdam prison inmates indulge in high-end liquor
New Amsterdam prison inmates indulge in high-end liquor

By Leroy Smith

A NUMBER of prison inmates at the New Amsterdam Prison located at Penitentiary Walk, New Amsterdam, Berbice, would be transferred to other prisons across the country as the prison administration moves to break up the open lawlessness that was displayed last weekend, when some of them posted images on Facebook of them drinking rum.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle last evening, Director of Prison (ag) Senior Superintendent Gladwin Samuels, said the development is indeed worrying to the administration of the prisons and immediate steps were taken to address the issue. He further stated that over the next few days a number of other measures would be taken to ensure the practice does not continue.

In the photographs which surfaced, inmates were seen relaxing as they drank and posed with high-end liquor and some amount of cannabis and other contrabands. As for the liquor, it is clear that those could not have been smuggled into the facility by persons visiting the inmates, since it would have been uncovered at the checking point at the prisons.

Last evening Samuels explained that already some of the prisoners were separated from the areas at the location that they were being house. He continued, “Arrangements are being worked on with the police in ‘B’ Division to improve the level of security at the prisons.”

Over the years a number of prison officers would have been placed before the courts for facilitating the smuggling of contrabands into the prison cells for inmates. Those contrabands, in instances, were intended for and in other cases delivered to suspects on remand for murder, cocaine trafficking, armed robberies and other serious crimes.
Also on Monday, the Ministry of Public Security issued a statement informing that is was aware of the development at the New Amsterdam Prison. The ministry noted that the mobile phone which was used to upload the photographs to social media has since been confiscated, and that the authorities have already launched an investigation. It is unclear whose name the sim card being used in the phone is registered to, and added to that it is also unclear who might be the person(s) supplying these mobile devices which are within the prison walls and in the hands of prisoners with credit and the facilitation of data plan.
A number of inmates, including some at Camp Street and Lusignan often make Facebook posts and change their profile photos and statuses from their jail cell. There are also some within the walls with active WhatsApp and Instagram accounts. The Public Security Ministry said it was extremely disappointed that alien and other materials inclusive of drugs and liquor find their way into the various prisons.

The release while not pointing any fingers directly to anyone, said that there can be no doubt that prison wardens and prisoners are in collusion and that contributed to the Sunday’s development. Further, the release stated, that such kind of misbehaviour by culpable prison wardens will be dealt with very seriously, following the conclusion of an investigation which has already been launched. The ministry is confident that the investigations will reveal who the officers are, even as the ministry promised to feed the public with the information when the probe is concluded.

 

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