Drugs at B.C. prison ‘insane’ with multiple drone drops daily, says union boss
VANCOUVER — A union leader says a prison in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is experiencing an “insane” drug problem, with drones making multiple deliveries to prisoners each day.
John Randle, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, says staff at the Mountain Institution in Agassiz are exhausted from handling the “non-stop” drone drops and overdoses among inmates.
The union says in a statement that officers seized almost 200 grams of crystal meth and other drugs at the prison on Wednesday.
It also says there have been two fatal overdoses in the prison since mid-October.
Randle says the planned expansion of a needle exchange program to facilities that he says includes medium-security Mountain Institution risks worsening the problem.
Correctional Service Canada says on its website it has been rolling out the needle exchange program since 2018 and it’s currently being used at nine federal facilities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2023.
The Canadian Press
Stay connected with local news
Make us your
home page
Authors
Related Articles
Tears and pride as Lapu Lapu survivors gather at community dinner before anniversary
VANCOUVER — After Lapu Lapu attack survivor AJ Sico sang the national anthem from his wheelchair in a Vancouver banquet hall, he was met with a standing ovation — a fitting tribute, his family says, to his stubbornness and resilience. Sico, fellow survivors and relatives of victims of the attack
Police investigating after man dies ‘under suspicious circumstances’ in Sooke, B.C.
SOOKE — Police say they are investigating the death of a man under “suspicious circumstances” on southern Vancouver Island. A statement from the RCMP in Sooke says officers were called to a mobile home park at around 3:20 a.m. Saturday after the man’s body was found. They say a suspect
Two men charged in 2022 Maple Ridge, B.C., homicide, believed to be targeted shooting
MAPLE RIDGE — Two men have been arrested and charged in relation to a 2022 homicide in Maple Ridge, B.C., where a 33-year-old man was killed in what’s believed to be a targeted attack. Homicide investigators say a 26-year-old man from Maple Ridge was arrested in March and charged with
