Police quiet on St. John's prison investigation

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary revealed few new details during a news conference Wednesday regarding a correctional officer charged with drug smuggling at Her Majesty's Penitentiary.

"It's a complex investigation that is continuing," RNC spokeswoman Lynn Downton told reporters.

The police displayed the seized drugs that they say belonged to Edward Taylor. The drugs included ecstasy and marijuana, and painkillers such as Percocet, OxyContin and morphine.

Taylor, 30, of St. John's, was arrested as a result of a police searchMonday evening. Police won't say where the drugs were found.

He appeared in provincial court in St. John's Tuesday and was charged with five counts of drug trafficking inside the prison. He was also charged with breach of trust and two counts of breach of probation.

In the meantime, the prison'schaplain said Tuesdayallegations that drugs are readily available inside the prisonare a setback to efforts to rehabilitate inmates.

Rev. John Paul Weston said news that a correctional officer has been charged with smuggling drugs into the institution, and trafficking on the inside takes away a safe detox zone for many of the inmates.

"It complicates relationships between correctional officers and inmates, it's harder to police the place," he said.

Weston, who runs a rehabilitation program inside the prison, said many prisoners are going into the prison system already addicted to drugs, and facing more exposure on the inside just makes things worse.

"A large number of the inmates are in there for drug and alcohol-related crimes. You take drugs and alcohol out of their lives and things would be a lot easier for them," he said.

'If they get drawn back into the use of drugs it may be one step forward, two steps back.' Rev. John Paul Weston

"It makes [prison] a dangerous place both for the inmates that are taking the drugs and for other inmates ... so, it's a very bad thing to reintroduce to people's lives and bring inside the prison. It's a setback for anyone who reverts back to drugs or alcohol if they're making steps toward sobriety. So, if they get drawn back into the use of drugs it may be one step forward, two steps back,"Weston said.

Weston said the news of Taylor's arrest isn't going to be easy on a lot of people.

"My heart went out to the guard and the family and just thinking about the struggle this is all going to entail for so many people now," he said.