Prison officers charged with smuggling phone and drugs

Mt Eden Prison in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images

Drugs, a cellphone and tobacco have allegedly been smuggled by guards to inmates in Auckland prisons.

Two prison officers who worked at Mt Eden Prison and the Auckland Central Remand Prison were arrested after a joint operation between the Corrections Department and police.

The pair were given name suppression when they appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday.

One of the officers, aged 33, is facing a charge of possessing a firearm after police found a sawn-off .22 rifle.

He also faces two charges of smuggling tobacco into the prison.

His colleague, aged 31, is alleged to have smuggled a parcel wrapped in tape. Court documents said drugs and a cellphone were found inside.

A second parcel contained a "controlled substance".

The officer is also accused of smuggling tobacco and food into the prison and faces six charges in total.

Corrections Department chief executive Barry Matthews said the pair had been stood down from duties and would also face an internal inquiry.

He said the charges were a result of a long-running investigation by the Corrections Department and Auckland police.

"The charges that these men are now facing demonstrate the vigilance and the effectiveness of our monitoring systems."

A senior police source said detectives from the organised crime unit had been investigating the alleged smuggling since a tip was received about 12 months ago.

"This is nothing new and it will continue to be a problem."

Thirty-five Corrections staff members have been sacked in the past two years, as of June.

The most recent was a guard sacked for smuggling cannabis to Mongrel Mob members in Rangipo Prison. He was allegedly bribed by associates of the gang.

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.

Mr Matthews said prisons had clamped down on drug smuggling since the Rimutaka 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 Herald revealed in September 2009 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 had free work done on vehicles.