An official at the Bowden Institution south of Innisfail said a suspicious package containing contraband items discovered outside the facility’s perimeter last week was likely an “attempted throw-over.”
Dan Spiller, the institution’s assistant warden, management services, said the discovery was made by an institution employee during an inspection of the facility’s perimeter grounds at about 12 p.m. on Nov. 22.
The package, which Spiller said was comparable in size to a football, contained two cellphones with chargers, hash oil, heroin, crystal meth and numerous other contraband items.
“We’re always on the lookout for this,” he said.
The find was “significant,” Spiller added.
“It could have had serious repercussions if it had made it inside the institution,” he explained.
The seized items had an “institutional” value of $41,420. With about 80 per cent of offenders arriving at Correctional Service Canada (CSC) institutions with substance abuse problems, Spiller said the street value of the items escalates once it gets inside a facility.
“Everything inside an institution generally is higher value than the street because of the limited availability and increased demand,” Spiller explained.
Spiller said throw-overs and attempted smugglings of contraband items into a facility are issues frequently faced by institutions across the country.
“CSC has a zero-tolerance for (this) and we’re continually working with local police agencies and communities to stop drugs and contraband from entering (institutions),” he said. “It’s an on-going problem.”
Spiller said the quantity of drugs and information on the other contraband items seized could not be released as the incident is still under investigation.
