An attempt to take drugs into the prisons was foiled when the drugs were found hidden in timpana which was being delivered to a prisoner, the Home Affairs Ministry said today.
The ministry was reacting to remarks made at a press conference this afternoon by Opposition Home Affairs spokesman Michael Falzon.
The ministry said that contrary to what Dr Falzon had said, in the recent drugs case, drugs were not introduced or trafficked in the prison. The drug was intercepted as somebody tried to take it in hidden in timpana.
The drug was found by a prison warder who was on guard in the visitors’ room. The prisoner was taken to court yesterday and admitted to trying to traffic drugs. These facts, the ministry said, were not made public during the court case since the accused pleaded guilty.
Although the fight against drug trafficking was a constant one in all prisons, the case at issue should make the prison staff proud since they had prevented drugs from being taken into the prison, the ministry said,
Unfortunately, it added, the Opposition was trying to trash such good work.
In his press conference Dr Falzon said the Home Affairs Minister, Carm Mifsud Bonnici, needed to shoulder political responsibility for the situation at the prisons, which had not improved despite many promises.
When pressed, he did not exclude that a vote of no confidence may be moved.
Dr Falzon referred to the Bickle drug trafficking case and a more recent prisons drug case decided by the courts last week. He said that while the minister could argue that he was not responsible for the prisons when the Bickle drug trafficking case took place, the same did not apply for the second case.
There had enough eye-openers for the minister to be aware of the situation, and it was time to shoulder responsibility, Dr Falzon said. Everyone, from prisoners to NGOs knew that there was a drugs problem in the prisons, except for the government, which was in a state of denial.
Dr Falzon said the name Corradino Correctional Facility had almost become a joke because there was nothing correctional about it. The rate of repeat offenders was very high, and crime was also being committed behind the walls.
The Labour spokesman said the prison was also suffering a lack of staff, problems regarding the quality of its staff, prison overcrowding and other issues.
On the recently-introduced parole system, Dr Falzon said the Opposition would reserve judgement to give the system some time, but he regretted that some structures were not yet set up, including the assessment boards which were being set up now.
He said parole was not the way to solve problems in prison and for parole to be successful, the prison system too had to be successful, with fewer repeat offenders.
Parliament last debated a no confidence motion in a minister in November, when a motion was moved by the Opposition against Austin Gatt over the bus service reform. Nationalist MP Franco Debono had abstained in that vote. Dr Debono has for months been critical of Dr Mifsud Bonnici and he too has called for accountability and reforms in the prisons. Dr Debono successfully pushed for the splitting of the ministerial portfolios of justice and home affairs and presented a private member's motion, which, among other things, calls for reform in the prisons.