“I can confirm that a prison officer was arrested today at HMP Northward. The matter is now the subject of criminal investigation and therefore it would not be prudent to comment further at this time”
Steve Barrett, Director of Prisons
(CMR) Prison officer Arnold Cabrera-Diaz (40) was arrested this morning at Northward Prison after he was found with 11 ounces of marijuana in his shoes. The Honduran man is said to still be on probation and has been with the prison service for roughly three months.
CMR reached out to the authority who later issued a statement noting that just after 6:00 a.m. this morning, 15 July, Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service informed police that a prison officer, working at HMP Northward, had been searched and packages of ganja were found on him. Police officers attended the prison and the 40-year-old-man of Bodden Town was arrested on suspicion of possession of ganja with intent to supply and other drug-related offenses.
Following the arrest, police officers conducted a search of the man’s residence in Bodden Town. During the search, a further quantity of ganja was recovered.
A police investigation has been launched into this incident.
This is the second arrest of a prison officer in the past two months for smuggling drugs in the prison located in Northward. Jamaican officer Rudolph Rambaran was arrested after an early morning operation on June 9 and taken into police custody. It appears that the prison has been increasing search efforts after ongoing concerns about the importation of illegal substances and telephones into the prison system. CMR understood at the time that Rambara was assisting the authorities with this investigation but there have been no further updates on his arrest.
Many have shared with CMR that officers are a critical link in the process for incarcerated persons to continue to have access whilst in prison.
Exclusive sources shared that Cabrera-Diaz lives in the Newlands area and is married to a Caymanian.
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