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Prisoners suspected after drug crop find
By Paula Doneman and Phil Bartsch
February 6, 2004
PRISON farm inmates are suspected of growing a drug crop concealed behind the farm in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Wildlife rangers on Tuesday found more than 181 marijuana plants hidden in rugged terrain in the Lamington National Park, which backs on to the Numinbah Correctional Centre. The well-tended crop, with an estimated street value of up to $20,000, was 300-500m from the jail's perimeter.
Police and prison sources said they suspected that inmates were involved.
Water containers and fertiliser found at the scene will be checked for fingerprints, and to establish whether they were taken from the jail.
An abandoned marijuana-crop site, complete with a shotgun booby trap and irrigation system, was found on the jail's reserve in 2001.
The rusty shotgun was not in working order, indicating that the site had been abandoned as long as two years earlier.
Officers said inmates of the jail, which is a low-security institution, could have reached the area.
"We do musters (head counts), at times - they are random - but inmates who work on the farm can disappear between them and we wouldn't know," one officer said.
Officers also said inmates at the jail were allowed unsupervised leave to seek work, and would have the opportunity to enter the national park.
Recent heavy rains meant detectives from the Gold Coast and Corrective Services Investigation Unit could only reach the crop by going through the grounds of the Numinbah jail.
Last night, Corrective Services officers upgraded patrols of the jail perimeter.
Gold Coast District Officer Brett Pointing said police investigations were continuing, and police had no specific suspects.
However, acting Superintendent Pointing said police could not rule out the possibility of inmates being involved.
"In reality, it could have been anyone," he said.Queensland Prison Officers Association spokesman Brian Newman said inmates were often left unsupervised because of staff shortages, and the discovery of the crop made a mockery of the Corrective Services drug strategy.
In a separate incident, it emerged yesterday that files containing the personal details of prison officers fell into prisoners' hands after being left in an abandoned building at a Brisbane jail work camp.
Plans for two Queensland jails were also left in the building beside the files - which remained unsecured for as long as four years.
Prison staff said the situation was a major security breach.
The files contained staff members' applications for jobs at two Brisbane correctional centres.
The Courier-Mail
Link
By Paula Doneman and Phil Bartsch
February 6, 2004
PRISON farm inmates are suspected of growing a drug crop concealed behind the farm in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Wildlife rangers on Tuesday found more than 181 marijuana plants hidden in rugged terrain in the Lamington National Park, which backs on to the Numinbah Correctional Centre. The well-tended crop, with an estimated street value of up to $20,000, was 300-500m from the jail's perimeter.
Police and prison sources said they suspected that inmates were involved.
Water containers and fertiliser found at the scene will be checked for fingerprints, and to establish whether they were taken from the jail.
An abandoned marijuana-crop site, complete with a shotgun booby trap and irrigation system, was found on the jail's reserve in 2001.
The rusty shotgun was not in working order, indicating that the site had been abandoned as long as two years earlier.
Officers said inmates of the jail, which is a low-security institution, could have reached the area.
"We do musters (head counts), at times - they are random - but inmates who work on the farm can disappear between them and we wouldn't know," one officer said.
Officers also said inmates at the jail were allowed unsupervised leave to seek work, and would have the opportunity to enter the national park.
Recent heavy rains meant detectives from the Gold Coast and Corrective Services Investigation Unit could only reach the crop by going through the grounds of the Numinbah jail.
Last night, Corrective Services officers upgraded patrols of the jail perimeter.
Gold Coast District Officer Brett Pointing said police investigations were continuing, and police had no specific suspects.
However, acting Superintendent Pointing said police could not rule out the possibility of inmates being involved.
"In reality, it could have been anyone," he said.Queensland Prison Officers Association spokesman Brian Newman said inmates were often left unsupervised because of staff shortages, and the discovery of the crop made a mockery of the Corrective Services drug strategy.
In a separate incident, it emerged yesterday that files containing the personal details of prison officers fell into prisoners' hands after being left in an abandoned building at a Brisbane jail work camp.
Plans for two Queensland jails were also left in the building beside the files - which remained unsecured for as long as four years.
Prison staff said the situation was a major security breach.
The files contained staff members' applications for jobs at two Brisbane correctional centres.
The Courier-Mail
Link
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