THE Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) announced on Tuesday that on August 8, staff at Kent Institution, a maximum security facility in Agassiz, B.C., seized a package containing contraband that included five handmade stabbing weapons.

Staff also recovered a mini cell phone, 51.1 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 1 gram of THC. The total estimated institutional value of this seizure is $27,500.

The police have been notified and the institution is investigating.

The CSC said it uses a number of tools to prevent drugs from entering its institutions. These tools include ion scanners and drug-detector dogs to search buildings, personal property, inmates and visitors.

CSC is heightening measures to prevent contraband from entering its institutions in order to help ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone. CSC also works in partnership with the police to take action against those who attempt to introduce contraband into correctional institutions.

CSC has set up a telephone tip line for all federal institutions so that it may receive additional information about activities relating to security at CSC institutions. These activities may be related to drug use or trafficking that may threaten the safety and security of visitors, inmates and staff members working at CSC institutions.

The toll-free number, 1‑866‑780‑3784, helps ensure that the information shared is protected and that callers remain anonymous.

ON Thursday, CSC announced that the lockdown put in place at Matsqui Institution, a medium security federal institution in Abbotsford, on August 13 has ended and “an exceptional search has been completed.” The institution has resumed its normal operations.

The search was ordered to ensure the safety and security of the institution, its staff and inmates, and visits were suspended.