STONY STAFF FIGHTING GROWING DRUG PROBLEM

STONY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTION -- Manitoba's highest security prison is
fighting a major drug problem which has resulted in a record amount of
seizures and growing concerns about the types of narcotics being smuggled.

Stony officials have already found more than $84,000 in drugs since
January, smashing the previous yearly high in just five months.

More drugs were seized in May alone than in the previous years of 1997-2001.

Although marijuana remains the drug of choice, prison staff have started
seeing harder drugs like cocaine become more common.

Even more alarming was a seizure last week of a steroid used for horses. A
bottle of Stanabozin, along with some syringes, was nabbed when a visitor
tried to bring it in for an inmate.

The bottle was clearly marked "for veterinary use only" and could have
caused serious harm to anyone who used it. "We're talking something
intended for a 2,000-pound animal that would be used by a 250-pound man,"
said Gil Johnston, a security intelligence officer at Stony.

The increased seizures are attributed to more high-risk attempts to get
drugs inside the prison walls and a beefed-up security program, he said.

It is also resulting in more desperate inmates and the potential for
increased violence, both inside the prison and on the outside, where large
debts are being accumulated that can't be paid.

"It puts a lot of stress on the inmate population, where you have 400 to
500 men living in close quarters to each other," said Linda
Garwood-Filbert, an assistant warden at Stony.

As well, a new round of drug smuggling attempts is expected soon after a
two-week lockdown at Stony last month.

"With no visitors coming in, that pretty much dried up the drug supply,"
said Johnston.

The Free Press was given exclusive access last week to those on the
front-line of defence against institutional drug smuggling, along with the
many seizures they have made this year.

Most of the seizures have come from visitors looking to get loved ones
their fix, often through a variety of bold and bizarre methods.

One visitor was caught lobbing a baseball over the barbed-wire fence and
into the two-acre exercise yard. Stuffed inside the ball was some pot,
along with a baked potato and dozens of pennies for weight.

"They tried to re-sew the ball back together but didn't do a very good
job," said Johnston.

A drug-filled tennis ball was also found in the yard.

"A (correctional) officer went to bounce it and it went 'thud'," said Johnston.

"The person had cut the ball open, packed the drugs inside and then
actually taken the time to sew the fur back together."

Other popular means of concealing drugs include body cavities, personal
effects like shampoo bottles, and electronic equipment such as stereos and
televisions, he said. Even slingshots and weighted bricks have been tossed
over the fence.

Other common smuggling methods including masking drug odours with things
like perfume and Bounce laundry sheets, which may fool a human but can't
stop Samson, the drug-sniffing dog.

The four-year-old black Labrador, along with his partner, Christer
McLauchlan, has a nose for narcotics which has already resulted in several
big seizures this year.

"It's very difficult to beat the dog with a gimmick," said McLauchlan.

Institutional drugs pose a variety of problems, both for the prison
population and those on the outside.

Because demand is so great and supply is so low, the price of drugs
smuggled into prison is nearly 10 times the regular street value, said
Johnston.

When drugs are caught on their way inside, it can leave an inmate with a
huge debt he is unable to pay off. "This stuff has a huge negative effect,
both here and in the community. In order to get the drugs in here, people
will have to intimidate others on the street, or take risks they otherwise
wouldn't," said McLauchlan.

Some of the would-be smugglers surprise even veteran prison officials.

"It could be moms, sons, daughters. There is no typical profile," said
Johnston.

He said their proximity to the community of Stony Mountain, located next to
minimum-security Rockwood Jail and Hwy. 7, opens them up to several attempts.

Garwood-Filbert said local residents have worked well with the prison and
RCMP to form a "community policing" partnership, where any and all
suspicious activity is getting reported.

To address the obvious needs of inmates -- about 70 per cent are considered
addicts when they enter prison -- Stony offers a variety of drug and
alcohol treatment and counseling programs, said Garwood-Filbert.

All prison visitors must provide two pieces of photo identification and an
ion detector scans for traces of drugs. If levels raise suspicion, visitors
could be further searched, have their privileges restricted or denied.

Since the scanner was installed three years ago, prison officials have seen
many people walk to the main entrance, then to do a sudden about-face and
leave. Others have tried to hide their stash outside, only to be caught by
Samson.

"A lot of people just see the dog and turn around," said Garwood-Filbert.

With the record amount of seizures and increased vigilance, the number of
visitors to Stony Mountain has dropped sharply in recent years.

"We take our message of zero tolerance very seriously," said Garwood-Filbert.

"We want to put the message out not to bring this stuff in. It's just not
worth it."

SIDEBAR

What's been seized

Here is a list of drugs seized in Stony Mountain so far this year, along
with their estimated prison value:

Marijuana -- $72,433

Dilaudid (a form of morphine) -- $4,500

Morphine -- $2,280

Cocaine -- $2,100

Valium -- $1,680 Steroids -- $500

Oxycrocet (a pain killer) -- $230

Percocet (a pain killer) -- $120

Home brew alcohol -- $100

Hash oil -- $60

TOTAL - $84,003

Here is a monthly breakdown of the value of drug seizures at Stony:

January -- $16,876

February -- $3,153

March -- $10,522

April -- $9,452

May -- $44,000 TOTAL - $84,003

- -- source: Stony Mountain Penitentiary