Drug-smuggling guard dismissed

A prison guard has been sacked for drug smuggling to Mongrel Mob inmates.

He was one of 35 Corrections staff dismissed over two years.

The officer was caught supplying cannabis to the "Cedar One" unit in Rangipo Prison after allegedly being bribed by gang associates, and lost his job last year.

Acting Rangipo Prison manager Dennis Goodin said staff were expected to meet high standards and any failure was taken seriously.

"In this particular case the individual breached the code of conduct and was therefore dismissed," Mr Goodin said.

A Corrections Department spokeswoman said police had been notified. Detective Sergeant Neale Saunders, of Turangi, declined to comment on the investigation.

A prison source said staff accused of corruption were often asked to resign to "hush it up", rather than go through a formal employment process.

Mr Goodin said the Corrections Department could not stop staff from resigning before completion of an employment investigation.

"However, resigning has no impact on whether criminal charges are laid as this decision is made by police."

The sacking is one of 35 Corrections Department dismissals - out of 2774 full-time equivalent staff - in the past two years.

Nine were from Rimutaka Prison after an inquiry into corruption two years ago.

One was a female guard stood down for allegedly having an affair with a violent criminal.

Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews said prisons had clamped down on drug smuggling since the inquiry.

"We have set up investigative teams, have been establishing good intel direction and we think we are making considerable progress," he said in October.

Mr Matthews made those comments shortly after a female prison guard was suspended from Spring Hill prison for suspected drug smuggling and a second Rimutaka staffer was charged with selling cannabis to inmates.

The Weekend Herald revealed last September that murderer Dennis Fitchett was fixing motorcycles and cars owned by Mt Eden prison guards free of charge.

An internal inquiry found four staff members or their family members had free work done on vehicles.