Georgetown: A hefty quantity of dangerous weapons and other illegal items were Saturday seized from prisoners at the country’s main prison at Camp Street, Georgetown, less than three months after security was beefed up following a riot which left 17 prisoners dead.
In an early morning operation, prison authorities, assisted by police and army ranks, raided prison cells and unearthed 173 improvised weapons, two kitchen knives, three screwdrivers, one hacksaw blade, 44 cellphones, a quantity of razor blades, 149 lighters, three garden files, five tattoo machines and a quantity of marijuana.
The early morning exercise was part of “Operation Restore Order”, to control the one prison in Guyana to have given authorities grave headaches, especially in the days leading up to and after the deadly March 3 riot, which saw prisoners setting the remand section of the jail alight.
The Camp Street prison currently holds double the amount of persons it was built to accommodate, and the authorities have tried to ease the overcrowding by transferring prisoners to other locations.
As a result, 15 high-profile prisoners were yesterday reshuffled to other prisons.
Director of Prisons Carl Graham disclosed that the operation commenced at 05:00hrs and lasted less than two hours, and the Guyana Fire Service was on standby to assist in case of any disturbances.
A Commission of Inquiry was set up by President David Granger following the March 3rd riot, and the report from that inquiry would likely contain recommendations to manage the country’s prisons.
President Granger has said the country needs a maximum security prison, and there are indications that the Mazaruni prison could be upgraded to fit that need.
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