The Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the Ghana Prisons Service, Chief Superintendent of Prisons Courage Atsem, says he has never come across any cocaine during their usual searches at the prisons.
Although he admitted that they had seen some illicit items at the prisons, he said not all the mentioned items were found there.
It was reported that illicit items had flooded the prisons due to due to absence of scanning machines to check smuggling by visitors, inmates.
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Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Chief Supt. Courage Atsem, explained that the illicit items they mostly found was mobile phones, and Indian hemp (weed) and not cocaine.
He was of the view that the reported headline was rather exaggerated, looking at the real situation at the prisons.
“Once a while, you will find a roll of Indian hemp and mobile phones. I have never seen cocaine in any of our routine check up. I can confirm that on few occasions we have arrested people trying to smuggle these things in,” he said.
Chief Supt. Courage Atsem added that the quantities of illicit items were not many because they conduct thorough security checks at their gate and they prevent entry when they detect the illicit items.
However, he said they are unable to detect some of these items when the people swallow them before bringing them into the prisons.
Meanwhile, Chief Supt. Courage Atsem said there were no scanners to scan people who enter the prison and items that are sent to the prisons.
“For now, we do not have some, but government has promised to retool the Prison Service with essential logistics and equipment and we believe that pretty soon, we will begin to have some of these items,” he said.
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Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
Writer’s email| [email protected]
