Nevertheless, with the introduction of heroin to this country, and the increase of un-convicted and convicted drug addicts, heroin became a lucrative drug for trafficking unlike ganja and opium and some officers have connived to provide this drug to them at exorbitant rates. Heroin is much easier to conceal than ganja and opium, and corruption in prisons, which was confined to the lower rungs of the prison hierarchy has now spread into the higher rungs of the staff as well.

Edither G. Perera

Retired Superintendent of Prisons

During the last few days, the Island Newspapers gave wide publicity to the case of a commissioner of Prisons, who is alleged to have taken bribes both in kind and cash to ensure a comfortable living for certain suspects and convicts behind bars. Prisoners have access to narcotics, cellular phones and even firearms due to corruption. Some inmates are even peddling drugs inside wards and cells, with some Jailors and their superiors adopting a nonchalant attitude, sometimes due to the fear of reprisals.

Prior to the introduction of heroin to this country, the drugs that came into a jail were ganja, opium and tobacco. This may be due to a few unscrupulous officers. To check this menace and also in the interests of security, the following strategies were adopted.

1. Random checks of officers at Parades when they reported for duty both day and night.

2. Frequent searches were carried out in Wards and cells.

3. All in coming prisoners were searched before they were sent in to the prison.

4. Visits of prisoners were properly supervised.

5. Premises were searched before unlocking & locking up of prisoners.

These measures were adopted to prevent contraband coming in and also to ensure the security of prisoners and to prevent escapes. Stern disciplinary action was taken, against offenders both prisoners and officers. If an officer is involved in trafficking drugs, apart from a disciplinary inquiry in the Department, the police filed a case against him in courts. Due to this deterrent action, offences were reduced to the bare minimum.

Nevertheless, with the introduction of heroin to this country, and the increase of un-convicted and convicted drug addicts, heroin became a lucrative drug for trafficking unlike ganja and opium and some officers have connived to provide this drug to them at exorbitant rates. Heroin is much easier to conceal than ganja and opium, and corruption in prisons, which was confined to the lower rungs of the prison hierarchy has now spread into the higher rungs of the staff as well.

In the early nineteen eighties, the commissioner of Prisons Mr. J. P. Delgoda realising the problems, the Department will be confronted with in the future, mooted the idea of having a separate Drug Rehabilitation Centre for drug addicts. He identified a block of land at Panaluwa in Homagama, in close proximity to the Prison work camp for short term prisoners and obtained funds from the Treasury. But this concept fell through because the funds allocated for this purpose, was diverted to construct a courts complex in a suburb.

This resulted in the location of drug addicts in all prisons in the country, contaminating and leading to corruption from the bottom, upwards.

In 1970 when I was on a Colombo Plan Scholarship I visited a Drug Rehabilitation Centre along with Dr. Leon, a specialist in the treatment of drug addicts. The centre was in St. John's Island. The drug used by the addicts at that time was opium and they were mainly Chinese, some of the addicts were skin and bones. They had this centre in an Island mainly to prevent drugs from coming in. In the course of my conversation with Dr. Leon, I asked him whether he observed catositis on their heels, since we have observed this in the Sri Lanka prisons. He replied that he will observe this in the future. It was called ‘ganja geta’.

In 1981 when I was in Singapore on a brief holiday, returning from Australia on another Colombo Plan Scholarship, I visited a Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Changi which housed heroin addicts. Heroin addicts were not located in normal prisons.

The idea of having a Police Post in every prison is a mistake. It is a grave indictment of the entire staff irrespective of rank. The department should introduce strategies to wipe out corrupt officers. They should be able to identify them. Any officer involved in trafficking drugs should be promptly interdicted. If there is a prima facie case, the formal inquiry should be concluded expeditiously. The police should be informed to initiate court action. Deterrent punishment is the only remedy to prevent corruption. In the latter part of 1997, Jailor Upali Tennakoon who was employed at Welikada Prisons was brutally murdered when he was returning home after work. He paid the supreme penalty for conducting effective searches to get rid of the drug menace in the prison. He antagonised the drug peddlers and the drug barons got rid of him.

The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Prisons should give adequate thought to the establishment of a separate drug Rehabilitation Centre for all drug addicts both convicted and un-convicted. Selected staff from all ranks with impeccable standards of integrity should be identified and deployed to this institution, Medical facilities should be provided to these inmates to wean them away from drugs.