Dailymirror
A prison officer was arrested for allegedly selling ganja packets to prisoners in the Anuradhapura Prison.
The suspect was arrested by fellow prison officers with twenty packets of ganja in his possession.
Under the directions of the administration of the prison the bags belonging to all prison officers were checked yesterday morning.
During further questioning by the Anuradhapura police, after he was handed over by prison officials, it was revealed that the suspect was involved in the alleged business for nearly an year.
The police are also in the process of arresting other suspects involved by conducting further investigations into the incident.
Extortion racket by prisoners busted
An extortion racket which operated from the Anuradhapura prison involving prisoners has come to light with the recovery of eight mobile phones used by several prisoners during a joint search operation by the police and prisons departments.
In the operation by the Trincomalee division, Police Special Crimes Investigations Branch and the Special Investigations Unit of the Prisons Department recovered the eight mobile phones said to have been used by the prisoners. The surprise operation had been conducted on a search warrant issued by the Trincomalee magistrate’s court in connection with an incident of a ransom of Rs. 1,500,000.
Investigations have revealed that some prison officers were hand in glove with extortion racketeers. Out of the eight phones seized one had been a camera phone. Two phones and a charger had been found in the possession of one prisoner and a sum of Rs. 13,120 had been recovered from their possession. Police and Prisons department have been conducting separate investigations to find out the source of the supply of phones and the mastermind behind the operation from inside the prison cells.
Further investigations are directed by the OIC Trincomalee special police investigations branch SI Dharmaratne and Jailor Indika of the Prisons Department.