Cannabis smuggled to prison under stamps
Letters sent to prisoners at Invercargill Prison have been found to contain more than well wishes.
Staff at the facility found cannabis stashed behind postage stamps on two incoming letters.
The letters, dated September 13 and September 18, were adorned with stamps of native birds staff noticed looked suspiciously bulging.
‘‘Our administration staff identified two letters, addressed to the same prisoner, as potentially suspicious,’’ prison director Daryl Tamati said.
‘‘They passed the items on for further investigation, and concealed underneath the postage stamp on each was a small amount of cannabis leaf.’’
The unique find came a week after a dog team at Manawatu Prison found cannabis leaf and oil stuffed inside chess pieces, he said.
‘‘Drugs can create a more dangerous working environment for our staff, and prevent prisoners from engaging in rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities.’’
Tamati said keeping contraband out of prisons was a chronic problem and a range of methods were used to prevent drugs, weapons, cellphones and other banned items from entering the secure facilities.
Staff monitored prisoners’ phone calls, used x-ray and employed 24 dog detector teams across the country to stop the flow of those items.
The Invercargill letters were passed on to police for investigation, Tamati said.
‘‘If the sender is identified they may face criminal prosecution, and could be banned from visiting the prison for up to 12 months.’’
He acknowledged some prisoners put ‘‘a huge amount of pressure’’ on their families and friends to try and smuggle goods behind bars, and advised ‘‘the consequences for doing so can be significant’’.
Anyone asked to bring drugs into a prison should anonymously report it to Crimestoppers.