On Wednesday, the Prison Service of the Czech Republic carried out a large-scale raid in the prison in Valdice in Jičín region due to the suspicion of a prisoner riot. The suspicion also related to the illegal possession of drugs and other unauthorized items by prisoners. Prison service units from several prisons responded to the scene. The Prison Service stated this in a press release message. Valdice prison is often referred to as the hardest prison in the Czech Republic. In recent months, more than 60 employees have resigned from the prison, including regarding a third of the guards.
Wednesday’s intervention lasted five hours and the prison service described it as a preventive-security joint action of units from several prisons. “At its beginning, there was a real suspicion of misconduct by several prisoners. The event was concluded with the result of the verification of the good cooperation of all participating components,” stated the Prison Service of the Czech Republic.
After discovering the suspicion of possession of drugs, illegal objects and attempts to provoke a riot by the prisoners, the prison service called the crisis team at the general directorate and also the crisis team at the Valdice prison. “Several units from prisons were called in and an extensive check of persons and parts of the Valdice Prison building was started. There was no threat to the security of the prison,” the prison service said, adding that it was now processing the results of the action.
In early June, police charged nine people with smuggling drugs and medicines into the prison. Five of the accused are prisoners, three are women. Detectives and the prison service have been working on the case since last September, when the guards came across a package with a suspicious substance while checking shipments. Drugs and medicines came to the prison hidden in the cuffs of sweatpants, in sponges for washing dishes, in felt-tip pens, in plasters or foam stickers. The sending of drugs to the Valdice prison was not detected by the police for the first time.
There were 1,017 convicts in Valdice in mid-June, of which 14 were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Regarding the statements of the prison employees and guards, the prison service spokeswoman Markéta Prunerová previously stated that the operation of the prison is not in danger because of this. The tabulated number of employees and members of Valdice Prison is 419.5 places, of which 350 places were occupied in mid-June.
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