Ongoing phone scams involving inmates at His Majesty’s Prison are a growing concern for prison authorities as they seek ways to stem the smuggling of cell phones into the prison.
Superintendent of Prison, Trevor Pennifeather has confirmed that he is aware of these scams and his team is working alongside the Royal Police Force to confiscate phones and other contraband smuggled into the penal facility.
“We recently confiscated a number of cell phones, but somehow, the prisoners and their accomplices continue to find ways to elude our security and get these phones to enter the prison illegally,” he stated.
Smuggling phones or other items into the prison is a crime, but according to the superintendent there is not much that he can do as he awaits the passage of updated legislation that will take these and similar offences.
The legislation in question is the Department of Corrections bill which is expected to go before parliament shortly.
This comes as several members of the society have reported that they have fallen victims to these scams where the prisoners are seeking ‘top-up’ of their phones and have used a variety of scenarios to scam unwitting members of the public of their money.
One recent case involved a scam where an individual was enticed to purchase grocery items valued at more than a thousand dollars only to find that this was all based on a rouse.
These phones calls have resorted to using the names of some prominent families to give ‘credibility’ to their scams.
Members of the public are urged to confirm with the individuals named whether or not the stories being told are correct before spending their monies to top up phones or engage in other purchases. They are also urged to report thee cases to the police as soon as possible.
