FOUR remand prisoners captured in footage recorded on their cellphones, sharing a meal of rice, peas and fish, were interviewed yesterday by senior prison officers after Prison Commissioner Gerald Wilson ordered a probe.
On Tuesday, the videos were widely shared on social media and two of the prisoners spoke openly about the Rasta City gang and brotherly love.
One was heard saying, “This is how we share our meals and this is the love we have for each other.” Wilson said yesterday, “After viewing the videos on Tuesday night, we ordered a full investigation” because he was concerned the prisoners had cell phones. Additionally, he saw that the prisoners were eating food from what appeared to be ice-cream containers.
Wilson said the prisoners, when questioned, did not reveal how they got the food and cellphones, but complained bitterly that the positive side of the videos, which showed them praying, was not taken notice of.
He said only recently a supervisor and an assistant superintendent had seized food in containers which were being smuggled from the convicted prisoners’ ration room to the remand section. He said he believed the food the prisoners had came from the same ration room, but could not determine how the cellphones were smuggled into the prison.
Wilson said there are grabbers and jammers in every prison and it appears the prisoners know how to beat the system.
He said every effort is being made to clamp down on the smuggling of illegal items into the prisons.