A WOMAN prison officer with more than 19 years’ service was arrested at the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca yesterday after she was found with prohibited articles during a security check.The Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service said the officer was arrested around 8.48 a.m. and was escorted to the Arouca Police Station, where she was assisting police with their enquiries yesterday. Acting Commissioner of Prisons Elvin Scanterbury noted that it was the first recorded instance of a woman prison officer found engaged in trafficking contraband within the Service.The Prison Service said she was expected to be formally charged later this week.The officer was cautioned about her actions and police attached to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) were contacted and went to the prison.Acting Commissioner Scanterbury commended the officers involved in detecting and intercepting the activity.He stressed that no individual, regardless of gender or rank, was above the law.The Prison Service said it continues to maintain a zero-tolerance position towards illicit trafficking and other illegal activity by staff members within the nation’s correctional facilities.No toleranceThe Prison Officers’ Association of Trinidad and Tobago (POATT) also said it had been informed that the officer had been held in connection with contraband trafficking.POATT public relations officer Kris Guerero said the Association’s position remained that there would be no tolerance for trafficking or facilitating the movement of contraband into or within correctional institutions.It said accountability should apply regardless of gender, rank, seniority, status, personal affiliation or connection to any individual.The association also said the conduct of an individual officer should not undermine the reputation of the majority of prison officers who continued to perform their duties.“The POATT stands firm: no officer is above accountability,” said Guerero.The Association’s position was also supported by its General Secretary, Lester Logie, who pointed to provisions governing prohibited articles and the association’s own policy on legal representation.Logie said that at the Association’s 2019 conference of delegates, the POATT amended its constitution to include Clause 13(b), which dealt with legal representation.He said the clause provided that the Association would not provide legal representation for members charged with trafficking or offences related to Prison Rules 233(2) and Section 8 of the Prisons Service Act, Chap. 13:01.Logie said Section 8 of the Act was updated under Act 25 of 2019, which introduced provisions addressing the possession and trafficking of contraband and illegal items within prisons.He said the legislation also identified core offences and defined prohibited articles, while providing penalties for law enforcement officers found guilty of such offences.According to Logie, officers convicted under the relevant provisions could face a fine of up to $500,000 and up to 15 years’ imprisonment.He said the legislation made it unlawful to bring, convey, supply or possess any prohibited article into or out of a prison without the express authorisation of the Commissioner of Prisons.Logie stressed that the authorisation had to be given in writing.He said prohibited articles included tools, money, unauthorised clothing, cigarettes, drugs, SIM cards, chargers and other items.Even books could not be taken into a prison without the required written authorisation, he added.