JAIL A SMUGGLERS' BAZAAR

Street Gang Runs Ring. Bordeaux Guards Implicated In Operation That
Supplied Drugs, Booze, Cellphones

Provincial prison guard Pierre-Arold Agnant will see what life is like
on the other side of the bars for at least a week after he was
arrested on allegations he helped a street gang smuggle drugs into the
Montreal Detention Centre.

He was among nine people arrested yesterday by the Surete du Quebec in
an investigation of corruption at the site, formerly known as Bordeaux
jail, in north-end Montreal.

Agnant, 44, is alleged to have taken bribes to allow a smuggling ring
- - said to be controlled by members of the Crack Down Posse, a street
gang - to bring drugs, alcohol and other contraband into the prison
for months.

In a statement, the public security minister confirmed that four
provincial prison guards, including Agnant, have been suspended
pending the results of an internal investigation. The three other
guards were not arrested yesterday.

When he appeared at the Montreal courthouse yesterday afternoon,
Agnant was accompanied in the prisoners' dock by two SQ investigators.
Prosecutor Chantal Michaud would not comment on why the investigators
took the unusual step of appearing with the accused.

Agnant faces five charges, including one count of breach of trust. He
and four other men arrested yesterday were ordered held until their
bail hearings.

Three other suspects, including two women, were granted conditional
releases that required they deposit $5,000 each and they not
communicate with the co-accused except to discuss the case with their
lawyers.

Khaled Ziade, 29, was the only person charged in the investigation who
did not appear in court yesterday. He is being held in a federal
penitentiary in Ste. Anne des Plaines.

As part of their operation yesterday, the SQ searched four cells at
the detention centre. They also searched Agnant's home on 91st Ave. in
Laval.

"Correctional Services transmitted information to the Surete and in
May 2006 the (SQ's) organized crime division began the investigation,"
SQ Sgt. Mark Butz said.

The smugglers "brought in all kinds of drugs, but it wasn't just
drugs. They also brought in alcohol and cellular phones. If the
inmates could pay for it, they would bring it in from the outside."

Gustave Jean, 35, an inmate at the detention centre, is charged with
bribing Agnant. Jean is serving 15 months for drug trafficking All
nine people arrested face general charges of drug trafficking and
conspiracy to traffic. The crimes are alleged to have occurred since
Christmas.

The case is to return to court Tuesday, when a date of a bail hearing
is to be set.