SODELPA MP Mosese Bulitavu [left] and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

Serious allegations of prison officers colluding with inmates and smuggling contraband have surfaced in parliament.

SODELPA MP Mosese Bulitavu who is also a former inmate made the claims while responding to the Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s comments on the issue of contraband supplied inside prisons.

Bulitavu who spent several months in prison last year has alleged that contraband is being smuggled into prisons through illegal cooperation.

“Contrabands come into prison, mobile phones, those prohibited items, cigarettes, and illegal drugs everything, passing through the system.”

Attorney General says recommendations have been made to introduce new technologies to counter the issue.

“Committee had recommended scanners, handheld scanners permanent scanners because we have a lot of contraband coming through so of course we have seen that sometimes those who come under the guise of visiting remand prisoners or perhaps even other prisoners they, in fact, do bring in contraband. So there has been a need to mitigate these risks perhaps that is why we have a requirement for letters.”

However, Bulitavu says new technologies will not solve the issue.

He says there is a need to train prison officers to become law-abiding officers.