DRUGS BEHIND BARS

Smuggling in illicit substances is 'big business' at the Ottawa
Carleton Detention Centre where a single cigarette goes for as much as
$25 and a gram of marijuana for $200

With the federal government planning to crack down on drugs smuggled
into the nation's prisons, Ottawa's provincial jail faces many of the
same issues in what is one of the most profitable markets for dealers
in the city.

Inside the walls of the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre on Innes Rd.,
it's a poorly kept secret that inmates have access to all types of
illicit drugs, from painkillers to marijuana, despite the guards' best
efforts to keep them out.

Besides the need for many inmates to feed their addictions, a gram of
marijuana can go for hundreds when it typically costs $10 on the streets.

The demand is high but there's a smaller supply compared to on the
outside, which motivates dealers to get the drugs in.

The most common drug smuggled is painkillers, be it morphine or
oxycontin pills, because they are odourless.

One longtime guard says they smell burnt weed or hashish now and
again, but they don't turn up as frequently as painkillers or crack
cocaine. He said if inmates do have weed, they usually tear a sheet
out of a Bible to roll their joints.

DEBT TO DEALER

The veteran guard, who asked not to be named, says drugs are typically
smuggled in using "mules." These are people either serving their debt
to society on weekends or cons on their way back in.

In other cases, a man on the outside may be in debt with a dealer. He
can't pay up so he is told to commit a crime so he'll end up at Innes.

The common way these drug mules smuggle drugs inside is by "hooping."
A term used by guards and cons, it refers to hiding the drugs in one's
anus. The guard said smugglers will use Kinder Surprise eggs and fill
them with pills or cocaine. They also swallow balloons or condoms full
of drugs.

If guards suspect a person is acting as a mule, they're likely to be
locked up in what's known as a "dry cell," and the guards wait to see
if they're right. By law, guards aren't allowed to perform a cavity
search.

Water to the toilet and sink are shut off. Many times, after holding
it in for a while, an inmate will relieve himself and try to put the
drugs back up, but according to the guard, without water it can get
messy. They check fingernails for human waste.

"It's pretty hard to get rid of s--- under your fingernails without
water," the guard said.

But Josh, an ex-con who's spent time at the jail, says even in dry
cells inmates normally get the drugs through -- although it wasn't
always so difficult or dirty.

The 35-year-old former Innes Rd. inmate said one of the ways drugs
used to be smuggled inside was through clothing exchanges. Prisoners
are allowed to have someone from the outside bring them new pants,
shirts or shoes.

"They'd rip the sole off and stick the drugs in there and just put the
sole back on," said Josh.

But technology has caught up: New scanners detect anything that is
sewn into the seams of pants, shirts or in the soles of shoes.

Inmates also used to have people from the outside toss tennis balls
filled with drugs over the fence to certain drop spots where inmates
are allowed outside to get exercise.

But guards caught on to that and do ground sweeps, so it's no longer a
reliable method.

Josh agrees hooping and weekenders are the main way drugs get into the
jail. But there's another.

When a person is on bail and is about to get sentenced, he or she may
be approached by people on the outside and told to take in "a couple
packages" for someone already inside.

"There are so many different levels being used," said Josh, who has
done time in federal jails. "It's big business."

He's seen a single cigarette sold for $25 and a gram of marijuana for
$200.

WEEKLY ALLOWANCE

At Innes, inmates are allowed a $60-a-week canteen allowance that
allows them to buy common necessities. Many inmates also use that
money to buy drugs from other inmates. They also have bank accounts
and all they need is someone on the outside to put cash into another
inmate's account.

Still, he said it's easier in the federal jails, where visitors can
meet face-to-face and have conjugal visits.

It's about to get a lot tougher to smuggle drugs into federal prisons.
In the coming months, the government will begin using drug-sniffing
dogs at prison entrances to screen visitors.

"It's a lot different for us (provincial jails) because we don't have
face-to-face visits," said Stuart McGetrick, spokesman for the
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

He said the only people who have direct contact with inmates are
lawyers, and that Innes also sometimes uses drug-sniffing police dogs
during cell searches.

McGetrick said the ministry has no immediate plans to beef up security
to stop the flow of drugs into provincial jails.

McGetrick said the ministry keeps provincewide data on the amount of
contraband seized from their jails, but does not keep separate
statistics on drug seizures or arrests, nor does it track statistics
from individual jails. Contraband includes everything from too many
shirts or magazines, to weapons and drugs.

He assured the Sun that the number of drugs getting into jails is
"low."

Despite what the feds or the province do, it won't stop inmates from
getting their drugs, according to Josh.

"There's a lot of money to be made," he said.