The lockdown at Mountain Institution near Agassiz has ended after six days.
Correctional Service Canada said the lockdown was put in place on March 21 due ot an exceptional search, and it ended on Thursday, March 27. The institution has since resumed normal operations and visits.
During the search, correctional officers discovered contraband and unauthorized items, including cell phones, phone chargers and methamphetamine. The institutional value of the items seized has not been released as of Thursday.
"The Correctional Service of Canada is strengthening measures to prevent the entry of contraband into its institutions in order to ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone," the CSC said in a statement. "CSC also works in partnership with the police to take action against those who attempt to have contraband brought into correctional institutions."
Correctional officers at Mountain Institution 鈥� and nearby maximum-security Kent Institution 鈥� regularly seize drugs, electronics and other contraband that makes its way into their institutions. During an operation in mid-February, staff as Mountain Institution seized charging cables, SD card readers, cell phones, nicotine patches, cannabis concentrate and methamphetamine. The total institutional value of the seized items was just short of $150,000.
The largest Mountain Institution seizure in recent memory came last July, when contraband worth $847,000 in institutional value was found during a search. The items seized included crystal methamphetamine, THC, steroids, tobacco, nicotine patches and cell phones.
The CSC employs a number of preventative measures at their institutions to stop contraband, including ion scanners, drug detector dogs and periodic searches of inmates, visitors and personal property.
The CSC also uses a telephone tip line for all federal institutions to report security concerns. The toll-free number is 1-866-780-3784.
