A female prisons officer was arrested at the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca yesterday, after she was caught allegedly trying to smuggle in a quantity of prohibited articles.
The Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service said the officer was held during a routine check.
According to an interim report, the officer, who has over 19 years of service, was found to be in possession of a quantity of prohibited articles.
The officer was taken to the Arouca Police Station, where she was expected to be charged with the offences.
Acting Prisons Commissioner Elvin Scanterbury commended the alertness, vigilance and due diligence exercised by the officers involved in intercepting this illicit activity.
The Prison Service said this is the first recorded instance of a female prison officer being held in relation to trafficking contraband within the prisons.
Scanterbury emphasised that no individual, regardless of gender or rank, is above the law.
“The Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service maintains an absolute zero-tolerance stance on illicit trafficking and any form of illegal activity by staff members within its institutions. We remain steadfast in our commitment to upholding the law, maintaining security, and safeguarding the integrity of our prisons,” the service said.
In a separate release yesterday, the prison service said the actions of a joint police and prison intelligence-led exercise also resulted in the conviction of an inmate for possession of prohibited items.
Prison officers said inmate Kadeem Samuel was held on June 26 in relation to the seizure of several prohibited articles and charges being laid against 11 inmates.
Samuel, who was on remand on a murder charge, appeared before Port-of-Spain Magistrate Indar Jagroo yesterday and pleaded guilty.
He was sentenced to 18 months’ simple imprisonment.
The charge was laid by ASP Stanley of the DCP Operations Team.
