Prison drugs check turns up only porn

PHUKET TOWN: A spot check for narcotics at Phuket Provincial Prison by Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi and other senior officials yesterday drew a blank. All that was found was four pornographic magazines. The inspection team, which included Pol Lt Gen Veerasin Kwanseng, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, was organized by Prison Director Tanu Maikaew. Warders at the prison were not forewarned of the inspection, K. Tanu said, because he wanted to test how effective they were at keeping the prison drug-free. “About 55% of people here are being held on drug-related charges. I came up with the idea to encourage officers to do their work effectively.” The search turned up no drugs after an hour of inspecting all areas in the jail, including the men’s and women’s quarters, the kitchen, canteen and the toilet blocks. All that was found was four pornographic magazines in the male prisoners’ dormitory. “The result was quite good because no drugs were found, which shows that the system works satisfactorily,” K. Tanu said. Gov Pongpayome applauded the initiative. “I think this is a good idea,” he said. “It’s good to see that no drugs were found. “However, next time, officers should have more time to search every prisoner because drugs may be hidden in their clothes.”