By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PRISON officers thwarted an escape plot by two inmates at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services on Friday.

Two inmates had reportedly been attempting to cut a hole in the concrete ceiling above their cell over a period of time before they were caught.

Minister of National Security Marvin Dames yesterday said preliminary investigations did not indicate the men were assisted by officers. He also declined to reveal the object used by inmates to damage the ceiling.

He told The Tribune the incident showed the critical need for modernisation and technological advancements at the facility, pointing to the possible introduction of CCTV.

“It doesn’t appear that they had any help,” Mr Dames said.

“They were sharing (the) cell with another person who wasn’t involved but everyone is assisting police. We’re happy we were able to expose this before they were able to get much further. Obviously, we will continue to look to see what we need to do to shore up.

“The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services is taking the appropriate steps.

“The officers were doing their rounds and discovered something wasn’t right in one of the cell areas and made a further check and found persons were attempting to cut a hole in a breached ceiling. And they were attempting to cut a hole over a period of time to I guess prepare for an escape.”

He added: “The good thing is officers were vigilant to determine something was not right.”

The hole was discovered in the ceiling of one of the cells in the male dormitory during a routine check shortly before 1pm.

The inmates are in police custody, according to a press release from the Ministry of National Security, which noted the men are expected to be formally charged in connection with the incident this week.

The BDCS has repaired the ceiling and accounted for all inmates, the statement added.

Yesterday, Mr Dames said the inmates were housed in the maximum-security area; however, he explained the sector was broken up into a number of different areas.

He continued: “You have an area where more serious inmates are, then another area where short-term to medium sentenced people are, and that is where this took place. These persons tried to cut a hole through a concrete in the ceiling. Obviously, they were able to smuggle something in, it didn’t happen in one night.

“They dug, concealed, dug, concealed, but they weren’t able to do it wide enough to effect an escape. Before that happened, they were exposed. Police came in and investigated, and they have identified two persons.

“The police have already made significant inroads and it seems as if these guys were able to get their hands on something.”

The national security minister acknowledged the ageing facility presented an operational challenge but said the BDCS has employed the requisite due diligence.

“This is part of the challenge of manning any institution,” Mr Dames said, “and when you begin to look at the age of the institution you have to always take that into consideration. The good thing is the officers were good enough to thwart this. The department is doing their due diligence and checking all of the cells in that particular block.

“It’s an ageing structure. They are checking all the cells and throughout maximum to ensure there are no areas of concern, and taking any additional measures to prevent this in future. This is one of the reasons why we’re looking at introducing technology into these areas like CCTV to ensure that we’re able to monitor them 24/7.

“The police have done some extensive work and it doesn’t appear at this time from their investigations that these two individuals would have received any additional help or support.”

Four inmates escaped the facility, then known as Her Majesty’s Prison, in 2006. Prison guard Corporal Dion Bowles was fatally stabbed during the escape and another guard, Kenneth Sweeting was injured.

One of the escapees, Neil Brown, was shot dead during his capture. Barry Parcoi and Forrester Bowe Jr were injured during the escape and quickly captured by authorities. Corey Hepburn was caught two weeks later at Coral Harbour.

Bowe died in prison in 2014 before his trial and Parcoi entered a plea deal before the trial.