There has long been evidence of a bustling marijuana trade behind the walls of the Belize Central Prison, but in recent times, the more vigilant security at the Kolbe-managed facility has led to an increasing number of arrests of visitors, mostly women, who attempt to smuggle weed into the prison for their relatives.

One such visitor, a Belize City woman from the Conch Shell Bay area, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled drug and was remanded to the Belize Central Prison, the institution into which she had attempted to smuggle the 10 grams of cannabis that she had stashed in her vagina.

Magistrate Hettie Mae Stewart remanded Quinn Melinda Arnold, 25, an unemployed of 1 Conch Shell Bay, to prison after she arraigned her on the charge on Friday, July 11.

Arnold will be brought back to court on Tuesday, July 15, when she will be sentenced.

On Thursday, July 10, Arnold went to the prison to visit an inmate, but when prison security searched her bag, they found some “fonto” leaves.

The discovery of the fonto and Arnold’s suspicious behavior made the prison security decide to do a further search of her, the prison’s Chief Executive Officer, Earl Jones, told Amandala this morning.

According to Jones, when prison security decided to do a cavity search on Arnold, she did not object.

Before the cavity search could be done, however, Arnold took a parcel containing the 10 grams of marijuana from her vagina and handed it over, Jones said.

Over the last two months, at least five women have been busted at the prison for attempting to smuggle weed inside.

The most recent was Natasha Lewis, 25, who pleaded not guilty to being in possession of 109 grams that prison security allegedly found inside a pair of tennis shoes. In court, Lewis claimed that she was set up by someone who gave her a package to deliver to an inmate.

Jones said that recently, a 17-year-old minor attempted to smuggle four plates of food, which had marijuana inside, into the prison.

Jones told Amandala that illegal drugs in the prison are a growing problem that they “are trying to bring under control.” Jones said that the sale of marijuana in the prison by inmates gives the sellers power over the other inmates, and this can lead to all kinds of problems that can retard the prison’s effort to reform inmates.

Jones emphasized that the prison has stepped up its security to bring the problem under control. The prison CEO stressed that visitors who are caught trying to smuggle marijuana into the prison are predominantly women.