HEROIN BLAMED FOR PRISON RIOT

By CPAGASSIZ, B.C. -- A group of maximum-security inmates who smashed
windows and furniture in the gymnasium at Kent Institution were high on
heroin, the assistant warden said yesterday.

Mike Hale said the prisoners obtained the heroin after breaking into a room
that stores drugs and knives confiscated from inmates.

Hale said the RCMP and Correctional Service Canada are conducting
independent investigations into Friday's incident.

Eighty-four inmates barricaded themselves in the gym during a recreation
period at Kent Institution in Agassiz, about 80 km east of Vancouver. Some
of them smashed the gym office windows with bars from the weight room and
trashed desks, work stations, a conference table and file cabinets, Hale said.

They spray-painted graffiti on gym walls and caused water damage with a fire
hose, he said. Damage was estimated at about $50,000.

Staff members were able to remove expensive equipment such as computers,
photocopiers and fax machines, Hale said, after they were alerted to the
possibility of trouble because of the unusually large number of inmates
attending the recreation period.

"They contained (the incident) within a very short time and we had a secure
perimeter around the barricade so (the inmates) couldn't go any further."

One inmate had cuts to his face and two fractures, possibly his arms, but
details are not yet known, Hale said.

The incident was apparently triggered by several factors, including the
removal of an unauthorized television set from an inmate and the segregation
of another inmate for assault, Hale said.

The last such standoff at Kent was about seven months ago, he said.

"In maximum security, you do expect to get incidents like that every once in
a while."