Commissioner of Prisons Ahmed Mohamed Fulhu says smuggling contrabands into prisons is a long-standing major issue and that few prison guards are aiding inmates to smuggle such items into the prisons.
Answering a question by "The Press" at a joint press conference held by the Home Ministry, Police, and Maldives Corrections Services yesterday, Ahmed said that authorities had been struggling to solve the issue of contraband smuggling into prisons.
The Commissioner said that the main reason is that most prisons in the country are run in the vicinity of the general population and it is difficult to manage the security of the prisons.
Ahmed said that a few prison guards are aiding the inmates in smuggling contraband like mobile phones and drugs into the prisons and that Maldives Correctional Services are working with the police to find these guards.
The Commissioner said that his organization has identified some of these guards and has taken appropriate action against them. He added that some guards are currently under custody pending investigations.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Imran Abdullah said that if a prison guard is involved in such a matter, the current administration would not turn a blind eye to such actions.
The Minister noted that under previous administrations prison guards involved in such offenses had been given promotions without hindrances but the current government had changed these customs and held such officers back.
