Sydney inmate wields knife, drugs in video

Corrective Services officials are investigating after a video purportedly filmed by an inmate in a Sydney prison shows him wielding a knife and the drug ice.

A man claiming to be an inmate at Sydney's Parklea Correctional Centre has labelled the prison a "dead set joke" in a video showing him wielding a knife and a substance he claims is the drug ice.

Corrective Services officials are investigating a "very serious breach of security" after the video, shot on a phone by a man claiming to be inside the jail, was published in June.

From behind the lens, the inmate shows a knife to the camera along with an improvised weapon dubbed a "slasher". He claims he is filming on a phone smuggled in by guards.

"Why have I got a mobile phone? It's because screws bring mobile phones into jail for money," the man says.

Investigations were continuing but searches carried out on Saturday had already uncovered four mobile phones, steroid tablets and several other contraband items, a Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Meetings would be held between Corrective Services and private operator GEO Group on Monday to discuss security and safety concerns, she said.

"Inmates go to extraordinary lengths to introduce contraband ... Any suggestions that contraband is introduced by staff are immediately investigated," she said.

In the video the man uses the "slasher" to cut the wall of his cell as an example of "what it can do to your throat" and says the jail is ruining lives.

"It is killing the young people, the young generation of this place is dead set terrorising," he said.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world