A horse trailer may have been used to smuggle a large quantity of drugs into a Maple Ridge prison.
Police are investigating, but won’t provide details on the trailer, which was dropped off for repairs at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre by a woman on March 7.
“We’re working closely with B.C. Corrections on this file,” said Ridge Meadows RCMP Cpl. Alanna Dunlop.
“With this being an active investigation, we’re not prepared to provide any specific details regarding this file as it may jeopardize the outcome.”
Dean Purdy, a spokesperson for the B.C. Government Employees Union’s correctional and sheriff services section, said the trailer remained at the men’s prison on 256th Street for sometime while staff tried to contact the owner.
Drugs were discovered inside the prison shortly after the trailer arrived on site, but Purdy was unable to confirm if they were directly linked to the trailer.
“We don’t have 100 per cent proof, but we have strong suspicions it was used to bring in contraband,” he added.
The shipment may also have contained cell phones.
It is not surprising that drug abuse and trafficking is an issue within prison walls.
In March 2009, Parminder (Peter) Singh Adiwal received a nine-month conditional sentence after pleading guilty to one count of trafficking cocaine inside FRCC. Eight other counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking were stayed against him.
In May 2008, after a 20-year-old man died at FRCC, the union representing prison guards at Fraser Regional Correctional Centre claimed drug use at the prison was “very prevalent,” worse than at any of the nine provincial prisons.
The B.C. Government Employees Union also said that drugs – marijuana, cocaine and heroin – were being bundled up inside tennis balls and lobbed into the prison yard at FRCC, then smuggled inside the facility by prisoners, who also pick up drugs and do the same while working on crews off the prison site on 256 Street.
Fraser regional has several programs that allow inmates to work in the community at a fish hatchery and as highway or ground maintenance crews.
Purdy said sometimes inmates will hide contraband on their bodies to smuggle it inside. By law, guards cannot perform a cavity search.
Purdy isn’t shocked a trailer was may have been used to smuggle in a much larger quantity of drugs than the shipments that trafficked inside by people or thrown over the prison fence.
“They’ll go to any means to get drugs inside the jail,” he added.
Purdy said the union will be speaking to prison management about staff-to-inmate ratios to find out whether a lack of supervision may have led to a slip.
B.C. Corrections confirmed that RCMP were notified about the trailer after it was brought to a fenced in outdoor area to be repaired by inmates who participate in the prison’s work programs.
As a result of the incident, the prison strengthened its policy to prohibit public vehicles from being accepted into any on-site work programs.
A spokesperson for B.C. Corrections said prison staff have many security practices in place around the programs.
They include security checks of all contractors, as well as regular searches of both the inmates and tools involved in these programs.
“We are confident in our security protocols and do not believe that this one instance suggests a broader issue,” said the spokesperson.
“Work experience is a good thing for inmates and the work they do benefits the community. All of our programs are designed to reduce reoffending. Work programs provide valuable experience for inmates and, in many cases, assist with the development of education and employment skills.”