A few hours after a substance suspected to be heroin was found in prison yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia warned again that the Government would not allow any breach of the rules.
Speaking at the opening of a new music room at Corradino Correctional Facility, Dr Mallia said it was unacceptable that drugs continued to be discovered in prison and those responsible would have to face the consequences.
The substance and an unauthorised mobile phone were found in a cell after information received by the prison authorities in the morning.
The Government said further investigations were ongoing but no other details were given.
Reacting to the Government announcement on the find, the Nationalist Party’s spokesman for home affairs, Jason Azzopardi, said that, while in Opposition Labour used to call such instances scandalous, this time the minister was speaking as if it were some kind of victory that drugs had been found in prison.
During the inauguration of the music facility, Dr Mallia said he was personally giving a lot of attention to the prison.
The Government had decided to build a juvenile prison facility in Mtaħleb adjacent to the existing substance abuse therapeutic unit.
He said the Government was planning to issue a call to employ a new prisons director after a bid to recruit internally drew a blank.
The new director will succeed Emanuel Camilleri who tendered his resignation a few weeks after being appointed by Dr Mallia.
Asked whether Mr Camilleri’s departure was linked to alleged interference by the minister and his staff, Dr Mallia refuted the allegation and said his chief of staff, Silvio Scerri, was “a very capable person”.
“I am very happy with Mr Scerri as he does his job very well,” he said.
Dr Mallia said Mr Camilleri decided to step down of his own free will and underlined that he was still an acting director.
The music room was financed by the Community Chest Fund.
A mini-concert was given by inmate Emmanuel Balzan, better known as Tristan B.
President George Abela said the initiative was intended to give inmates more opportunities in the future.