Staff members at Bowden Institution in central Alberta seized $495,320 worth of drugs earlier this month, the institution said in a media statement Friday.
On Nov. 14, staff members seized multiple packages from the yard of the medium-security unit. The packages were described to contain contraband, although exactly what was inside wasn’t released.
It’s not clear how the drugs made it into the yard. The institution uses ion scanners and drug-detector dogs to regularly search buildings, personal property, inmates and visitors.
The Correctional Service of Canada said it is heightening security measures to prevent similar contraband from getting into the institution.
In 2011, an inmate at the Bowden Institution pleaded guilty to possessing drug-soaked Bible pages.