By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

A 51-year-old correctional officer is in police custody after he was arrested at the prison on Wednesday afternoon accused of possessing dangerous drugs with intent to supply.

According to reports, shortly after 2pm, a team of officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), acting on intelligence, went to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, formerly Her Majesty’s Prison, where they conducted a search of a correctional officer (formerly a prison overseer) who had just reported for duty.

(Government has renamed HM Prison, Fox Hill, the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, and prison officers are now correctional officers. The name changes were made in the enactment of the Correctional Services Act earlier this year).

During the search, DEU officers reported that they found a quantity of dangerous drugs. The officers also seized over $700, believed to be the proceeds of crime.

The officer was taken into custody and is expected to be charged.

Supt Samuel Butler, Officer in Charge of the DEU, told The Tribune the officer was found with three taped packages of marijuana. When asked if DEU suspected the drugs were intended to be sold to inmates, Supt Butler said: “We cannot speculate, but we doubt that he would have taken that much marijuana to work if it was just for his personal use.”

According to sources, the officer in question has worked at the prison for 28 years and allegedly faced disciplinary action several years ago because of “misconduct on the job”.

“With this incident, apparently Department of Correctional (Services) officials were watching him for some time because a well known inmate was found with a cell phone with his contacts in it,” the source said.

Officials claim that on Wednesday he came onto the premises “and as soon as he stepped out of his car the DEU approached him. K9 dogs sniffed out the drugs and they also found a cell phone. He was immediately arrested.”

Investigations continue.