Guards seize nearly $950K in drugs, contraband at Dorchester prison in one day

Nearly $950,000 in contraband was seized at Dorchester Penitentiary in one day.

Staff discovered a single package containing drugs and other unauthorized items on the perimeter of the medium-security unit Tuesday, Correctional Service of Canada announced Friday.

The items included methamphetamine, ecstasy, a potent marijuana derivative known as shatter, marijuana, tobacco, nicotines patches and cellphones, according to a news release.

The total estimated institutional value of these items is $941,502, Sophia Doiron, communications advisor for Correctional Service of Canada regional headquarters, Atlantic, said in a statement, crediting the "vigilance of staff."

Police have been notified and the prison is investigating, Doiron said.

She did not respond directly to questions about how unusual it is to have a seizure this size, or whether Dorchester has ever had one this large before, but did say items may cost at least 10 times more inside an institution than on the street.

The estimated institutional value is based on multiple factors but is "primarily determined through intelligence information collected at each individual site," Doiron said in a subsequent email.

The same seizure at two institutions might have different estimated values, she said.

In addition, institutional values vary over time and "are dependent on, but not limited to, the security level of the institution, the supply, and the demand within the institution, as well as the type of contraband/unauthorized items found," Doiron said.

Nearly 700 inmates

Dorchester is a multi-level security prison for men located in the village of Dorchester, between Sackville and Memramcook, in southeastern New Brunswick.

The medium-security unit, which has a dome design, has a rated capacity of 397 inmates, while the minimum-security unit has a residential design and is rated for 302 inmates.

The Correctional Service of Canada is "heightening measures to prevent contraband from entering its institutions in order to help ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone," according to the news release.

It already uses a number of tools to prevent drugs from getting in, including ion scanners and drug-detector dogs to search buildings, personal property, inmates, and visitors, the statement says.

There is also a toll-free, confidential telephone tip line for any information related to security at its institutions, 1-866-780-3784.