–Gun allegedly thrown over fence, but none found

THE Prison at Timehri on the upper East Bank was put on complete lock-down yesterday after news surfaced that someone in a white vehicle threw a handgun over the fence at round 10:30hrs.Ranks from the police force and prison service were quickly deployed to make a thorough search of both the building and compound for the weapon, but came up empty handed.

A Joint Service team, replete with fire tenders, also joined the search, but by 14:30hrs had still not unearthed any weapon.
What they did find, however, according to prison sources, were illegal wines and other minor infractions within the confines of the Timehri Prison.

Readers will recall the morning of March 3, when 17 prisoners housed at the Camp Street jail lost their lives in a fire.

This turn of events prompted scores of prisoners to be transferred from the Camp Street Prison to other locations across the country in a bid to ease the congestion at the Georgetown penitentiary.

The 132-year-old Camp Street Prison, occupying an entire city block, was built to house 600 inmates but, for years now has been dogged by overcrowding.

The transfer of the Camp Street prisoners has been seen as a positive move by the prison authorities; and from all accounts, the inmates have been transferred to the Mazaruni, New Amsterdam, Lusignan and Timehri prisons.