PEN STOPS DRUGS AT THE GATE

Stony battles smugglers

Friends don't ask friends to smuggle drugs, or at least they shouldn't.

But the reality is many people on the visitors list for Stony Mountain
Institution are often forced, threatened or bribed to bring drugs into the
pen.

"It is very costly for the people who get caught," said Linda
Garwood-Filbert, spokeswoman for the federal institution just north of
Winnipeg, adding the medium-security prison has increased efforts to catch
drug smugglers.

"We've become very effective in stopping the introduction of drugs into the
institution," she said.

DRUG DETECTOR DOG

Corrections staff have already made four busts this year, up from two last
year.

On the morning of June 3, the drug detector dog helped lead corrections
officers and RCMP to a stash containing 34 grams of marijuana about to be
smuggled into the prison by a visitor. The drugs had a jailhouse value of
$2,700, said Garwood-Filbert.

Later that afternoon, a woman acting suspiciously caught the attention of
corrections officers, who found she had a number of balloons in her hand
containing drugs.

The packages were seized and the woman was taken into custody by Stonewall
RCMP and charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, said
Garwood-Filbert.

The balloons held 29 morphine pills with a jailhouse value of $2,900.

It's very risky business for visitors to try smuggling drugs into the pen,
"as our staff at Stony Mountain are very focussed on their drug strategy,"
said Garwood-Filbert.

The institution's drug strategy includes screening visitors, using drug
detection dogs, and using an ion scan machine that can detect drugs or
residue on visitors.

The pen has set up a confidential hotline offering support to visitors who
are being coerced to bring drugs into the pen. The number is 204-344-6000.