SEARCHES conducted by the Joint Services at the Lusignan Prison Holding Bays on Monday uncovered a number of illegal items, which were seized.

The search which targeted Holding Bays One, Two and Three, found the following items: 17 cellphones,15 sim cards, two tattoo machines, five pairs of scissors, 58 improvised weapons,85 grams of cannabis, $3,040 cash, a quantity of chargers, one knife, one chopper, four lighters and a quantity of razor blades.

Director of Prisons (ag) Gladwin Samuels had disclosed, that several prison officers had been relieved of their duties after they were found to be working in collusion with each other, in order to facilitate the movement of suspected contraband into the Lusignan Prison Holding Bay area.

The Prison Director, further decrying the behaviour of such ranks, had said, “It is quite disturbing, it is quite embarrassing, to have to face these situations on a daily basis; but this is not a situation whereby the prison administration is failing to act. The reality of it is, despite we would do vetting and so forth, these prison officers are drawn from communities…and for some strange reason, despite they’re given their dos and don’ts, they allow themselves to be sucked into the financial gains that these activities can bring you.”