OFFICERS RAID PRISON UNITS FOR DRUGS

Small Amounts Found; More Sweeps Planned

Close to 200 law enforcement officers swept through a housing unit at the
Utah State Prison Wednesday night, coming up with a few drugs, a little
money and a weapon.

Department of Corrections spokesman Jack Ford said the 11 p.m. raid at
Promontory is the first in a series of planned "inspections" that will be
done throughout the year to deter drug use in the prison.

Promontory, which is a privately run minimum-security facility operated by
MTC of Ogden, was chosen first because so much of its population is allowed
off-site, Ford said.

The 400-bed unit is for those inmates who are "halfway" out and are close
to a parole date. It also serves as a "halfway" back unit for those
parolees who violate terms of their supervision.

Because residents are allowed off-site to go to work and have home visits
on the weekends, the likelihood of drugs being smuggled in increases, Ford
said.

"This was the result of a lot of letters that came in, inmates who say they
didn't want to go there because of the drugs and investigations by our own
law enforcement bureau," Ford said.

The raid produced minimal amounts of meth, cocaine and marijuana, Ford
said, and a homemade knife whose owner they couldn't identify. Four
Promontory residents were pulled from the facility and returned to the
regular prison population because of prohibited items found in their
possession, he said.

Ford said the operation has been in the planning stages for about two weeks
and involved prison SWAT officers, 50 agents with Salt Lake's Adult
Probation and Parole, as well as agents from Davis and We-ber counties. K-9
units from Utah County were also used, Ford said.

"We need a large number of people who divide up into teams so they can get
into the facility quickly. One, we wanted to control any flushing. If they
know we are coming, it is going to go down the toilet. We have to go in
there quickly to cover all the toilets."

The raid is an extension of the prison's ongoing efforts to deter drug use,
supplementing its regular spot checks, Ford said.

"We run 1,200 random urine tests a month inside the system," he said.

Officers also cordon off sections each day for regular sweeps. "They're
done on a regular basis and are pretty arbitrary."

Ford said this is the largest operation since one that took place nearly
three years ago. That, too, was at Promontory.

Authorities plan to hit all the housing units.

"I think this sends a message. We are going to continue to do this because
we will not tolerate using drugs in prison."