Force Of 600 Sent Into Prison To Halt Drug Trade

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections sent a 600-person force into the maximum-security prison at Graterford late Monday to crack down on drug trafficking among inmates and employees.

More than 400 corrections personnel were accompanied by state police and the Customs Service in the raid, which was expected to last for a couple of days.

“It’s a massive undertaking but we feel inmates and staff who are involved in the illegal drug trade at Graterford are a danger to the lawabiding staff and the other inmates,” state Corrections Commissioner Martin Horn said.

The cell-by-cell search was for weapons, cash and any communications devices that could be used in the drug trade.

Several inmates testified before the state Senate Judiciary Committee last month that guards take bribes to erase bad marks on inmates’ records, sell drugs and have deliberately caused fatal prisoner overdoses.

At least 13 guards, including three this year, have been charged with drug violations since 1989.