Pubdate: Sat, 18 Oct 2003
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2003 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Mark Cardwell

DRUGS ZINGED INTO PRISON WITH CROSSBOWS

Official Of Quebec Penitentiary 'Never Heard Of Anything Like It'

QUEBEC - Corrections Canada officials seized thousands of dollars worth of 
illicit drugs last year at the penitentiary at Donnacona, Que., but they 
had no idea how they were being smuggled in -- until guards discovered two 
crossbow arrows in the prison yard last month.

"It's a new one for us, and I've never heard of anything like it in any 
other [Canadian] prison," said Carl Pelletier, deputy director of the 
maximum-security facility near Donnacona, a suburb of Quebec City.

According to Mr. Pelletier, prison officials first heard about drugs being 
shot over prison fences with bows last year from an informant. However, 
searches in the woods that surround the prison failed to turn up any evidence.

But last month, on Sept. 13, guards found the two arrows imbedded in the 
ground inside the prisoners' recreational yard on the northwest side of the 
facility.

Two weeks later, on Oct. 3 and 4, the motorized units that patrol the 
perimeter road outside the prison's barbed-wire fences found four more 
arrows and a tennis ball that had apparently fallen short of their mark.

Those arrows had been fired from a standard bow.

The arrows and the tennis ball contained a total of 25 grams of heroin, 89 
grams of marijuana, 29 grams of hash and 115 pills containing a morphine 
derivative.

The drugs in the arrows were packed into straws that were crammed into the 
hollow shaft.

No arrests have been made in the case, which is being investigated by the 
Surete du Quebec. However, nine of the 325 prisoners currently held in 
Donnacona are suspects. They could face criminal charges or transfers to 
other prisons.

Because drug prices inside prison are several times higher than on the 
street (Mr. Pelletier says heroin, for example, sells for $1,000 per gram 
in the prison, while a gram of hash or pot fetches $55), the estimated 
value of the smuggled drugs found was $40,000.

The use of tennis balls to smuggle drugs, however, is not new.

At the medium-security prison in Laval, which is located next to Autoroute 
440, Mr. Pelletier said guards regularly find dope-filled tennis balls that 
are thrown into the prison yard from passing vehicles.

Last year, a series of intensive searches that were part of an ongoing 
Correctional Service of Canada strategy aimed at cracking down on drug 
consumption and smuggling in Canadian prisons led to the seizure of 
$183,000 in illicit drugs at the Donnacona facility.

Donnacona officials do not know if or how many drug-stuffed arrows landed 
inside prison grounds or if they were recuperated.

However, they are taking measures to thwart the smuggler.

"We'll be putting lights in the woods where the arrows were fired from, and 
installing infrared motion detectors in that area," Mr. Pelletier said. He 
said, too, that the size of the prisoners' recreational yard will also be 
reduced by two-thirds.

"That's part of the consequences [for the arrow shooting]," Mr. Pelletier 
said. "We're not running a daycare here."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart