Christchurch Men’s Prison visitor had drugs, firearm and a large amount of cash inside car

Christchurch Men's Prison. Photo / NZME

What not to take to a prison visit? A car full of drugs, cash, a gun, and drug paraphernalia.

One person learned that the hard way recently when they were caught with a cache of contraband in their vehicle during a visit to an inmate at Christchurch Men’s Prison.

Corrections confirmed to the Herald that on December 12 staff became suspicious of a vehicle that attempted to drive into a visitor car park and bypass the prison entry checkpoint while the drug dog detection team was conducting routine searches of vehicles entering the prison.

Staff redirected the driver to the checkpoint area and the two occupants were instructed to get out of the vehicle so it could be searched.

“Drug detector dog Kaos alerted staff to a bag inside the vehicle, which was passed on to a handler for manual searching. A large amount of cash, cannabis, and a number of empty small ziplock bags were located inside the bag,” prison director Jo Harrex said.

Drug detector dog Kaos alerted staff to a bag inside a vehicle that was visiting an inmate at Christchurch Men's Prison. Photo / Corrections

“When staff carried out a further search of the vehicle, they found drug paraphernalia and a firearm.”

Police were contacted and a person was taken into custody. All items were seized by police.

“This was a fantastic find by our dog section, with Kaos front and centre of this operation,” Harrex said.

“Let this serve as a reminder to anyone who visits our sites with prohibited items – we will find them and you will be held to account.”

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.