Officials stop gang from smuggling Indian hemp into prison

Officials of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Ikoyi, Lagos, have foiled another attempt by a two-man gang to smuggle Indian hemp into Ikoyi Prison.

The incident occurred a week ago, barely one month after officials of the prison foiled an attempt by a housewife, Adeyemi Oyinkansola, whose husband is on remand at the Ikoyi Prison, to smuggle about 930 grams of a substance suspected to be Indian hemp concealed in four big tomato tins, into the facility.

The suspects, Babatunde Mustapha and Abdullahi Ismail, were caught while attempting to smuggle Indian hemp into the prisons during visiting hours last week.

It was gathered that the suspects, on arrival, requested to see an inmate, who unknown to them, had been moved from the facility to another one in Lagos.

When told that the inmate had been moved, the suspects reportedly became confused, as they were not aware of the transfer.

“Their mood changed immediately they heard that the inmate had been moved. In fact, the way they reacted to the transfer made those monitoring the closed-circuit television (CCTV) and other officials to become suspicious.

“Consequently, our boss, Deputy Controller of Prisons (DCP) Tolu Ogunsakin, ordered them to be detained. He said a search should be conducted on them”, a source said.

It was gathered that when subjected to a search, a black cellophane bag in which the Indian hemp was concealed, was found on them.

The Nation learnt that Ogunsakin immediately ordered their arrest and seized the substance.

Lagos State Controller of Prisons (CP) Tunde Ladipo, who confirmed the incident, said the prison authority would not relent in its effort to stop smuggling of such substances into the prison.

“We are always very vigilant in our activities because we have zero tolerance for such acts. Immediately anybody is caught, we make sure they face the full wrath of the law. We will make no exception of these ones we’ve just arrested”, he said.

Ladipo reiterated the determination of the prison authority to reform the inmates, to make them become useful citizens after their jail terms.

He said Mustapha and Ismail have been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further interrogation and subsequent prosecution.