Twenty people arrested after investigation into alleged corruption within several prisons

Source: Radio New Zealand

Twenty people have been arrested following a major investigation that has spanned nearly a year into alleged corruption within several prisons.

Detective Inspector Colin Parmenter, of the National Organised Crime Group, said on Thursday Police began investigating criminal activity at the Mt Eden Corrections Facility (MECF) in July 2025.

This week, 20 people were arrested in relation to the investigation, dubbed Operation Jasper.

“Those arrested include Corrections Officers, Reintegration Officers and members of the public associated to prisoners.

“Police have identified serious criminal offending, so serious that the corruption and bribery charges required the Attorney-General’s consent to prosecute.”

Parmenter said the investigation initially focused on the activities of sentenced and remand prisoners at Mt Eden.

“We will allege that some of those prisoners were coordinating drug importations and drug-related transactions from within prison.”

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Corrections officers were also allegedly identified as being involved in the offending, he said.

“Several staff working in Mt Eden were allegedly involved in smuggling mobile phones, drugs, tobacco and other contraband into prison in exchange for cash,” Detective Inspector Parmenter said.

“Police believe the phones were used by prisoners to continue drug importation and distribution activities from within the Mt Eden facility.”

The investigation then moved to Auckland South Correctional Facility (ASCF), based in Wiri.

Parmenter the investigation uncovered several Reintegration Officers, employed by Serco, “allegedly engaging in similar corrupt practices”.

“It will be alleged this involved smuggling controlled drugs and tobacco for financial gain.”

108 charges laid

Police carried out 25 search warrants this week across Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, including at the Mount Eden Corrections Facility.

A cell was also searched at Spring Hill Corrections Facility in Waikato.

Those charged include nine Corrections Officers from the Mt Eden Corrections Facility, one from Spring Hill Corrections Facility, five Reintegration Officers from the Auckland South Corrections Facility, and five members of the public.

So far, 108 charges have been laid.

“Police have worked closely with Corrections and Serco as part of this investigation, and we are all committed to rooting out corruption and preventing this criminal offending from taking place,” Parmenter said.

Operation Jasper had also identified drug dealing offences allegedly carried out by prisoners, guards, and their associates.

“There has been an incredible amount of work put into this investigation to get where we are to date, but as matters are now subject to court proceedings we will be limited in providing any

further comments,” Detective Inspector Parmenter says.

Nature of the charges

RNZ has seen nearly 100 charge sheets related to the offending.

The documents relate to 17 defendants, of whom four are charged with corruptly offering a bribe to an official with intent to influence them in their official capacity to introduce an unauthorised item into prison.

A majority of the nearly 100 charges allege the defendants, as officials, corruptly agreed to accepting a bribe in respect of introducing unauthorised items into prison in their official capacity. Some of the

charge sheets claim the offending jointly involved up to 10 people.

Other charges include conspiring to sell cannabis and supply methamphetamine to unknown prisoners remanded at Mt Eden.

A defendant is also jointly charged with two others of conspiring to prevent the course of justice by counselling and confirming their constructed version of events if questioned about their smuggling activities and deleting material from their mobile phones that potentially implicated them.

‘Staff integrity is a top priority’

In a statement to RNZ on Thursday, Corrections chief executive Rachel Leota said that since starting the role about two weeks ago she had made it clear that “staff integrity is a top priority for me”.

“I met with CANZ yesterday and have spoken with them again today to reiterate that I would like us to work together to further strengthen the integrity training and support we provide to staff.”

Leota said the safety and security of prisons was the top priority.

“Many prisoners go to extreme lengths and use significant manipulation tactics in an attempt to continue offending while in prison. Corrections is committed to doing everything we can to ensure the integrity of our staff, and we are continuously working to strengthen both our recruitment processes and our staff training.

“Significant emphasis is placed on our high standards for conduct and integrity throughout our recruitment and selection processes. Integrity training is provided to new Corrections Officers throughout their training at our National Learning Centre. This training continues when staff members start working in their respective prisons.”

She said Corrections also had a dedicated Integrity Team and had recently updated its Code of Conduct.

“We recognise that the environments our staff work in are increasingly complex, particularly with the significant influence of gangs and organised crime. We have a very clear expectation from day one that our people comply with the law.

“There are multiple avenues available for staff to get help if they are asked to act illegally by a prisoner.”

“This includes speaking to their manager or union representative, or contacting our integrity team … This obligation to report unlawful activity is further reinforced in Corrections’ Code of Conduct. Failing to do so puts the safety of our staff, the public, and prisoners at risk and will not be tolerated. I want to acknowledge the good work of the thousands of Corrections staff who do act with integrity every single day.”

Deputy Commissioner for Men’s Prisons Dave Pattinson earlier said Corrections officers and senior Corrections officers had been arrested.

The arrests were part of a wider police operation in Auckland, Pattinson said.

Criminal activity in prisons would not be tolerated, Pattinson said, and any staff taking part in this sort of activity would be found out and held to account, he said.

“Corrections employs approximately 11,000 staff and the overwhelming majority act with integrity, professionalism and honesty in what is an extremely demanding and often dangerous job working with New Zealand’s most dangerous offenders.”

Serco, the private company which runs Auckland South Corrections Facility said it took all forms of criminal behaviour extremely seriously and had assisted police with inquires.

It said it was confident that the majority of its staff had integrity, professionalism and a strong commitment to safety every day.

The matter was now subject to an active investigation and court proceedings, and Corrections did not want to compromise that by commenting further, Pattinson said.

Corrections was actively working through the impacts on the staff members employment, he said.

If any staff had concerns about a prisoner or colleague’s behaviour, Pattinson encouraged them to speak to their manager or union.

Corrections and Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he was briefed on the alleged offending earlier this week.

He told RNZ he had been clear that staff at both agencies must maintain integrity and work together to identify and take action against organised crime.

“I have a very high degree of faith in our Corrections team from managers through to Corrections officers working in our Corrections facilities.

“But in a service like Corrections, you are going to have some people who depart from those values. The important thing is that we identify it, take action, and do what we need to do to fix it.”

He said he was satisfied that the recruitment and training of Corrections staff was “comprehensive”.

“We have a very good recruiting process and curriculum for Corrections officers to be trained.

“I’m absolutely satisfied that our recruiting process and the recruit course itself are delivering the curriculum and training they need.”

He said while police were investigating the matter, he would not comment further on the charges that had been laid or if there could be more arrests.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/21/twenty-people-arrested-after-investigation-into-alleged-corruption-within-several-prisons/