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Cilacap, Central Java. The Justice and Human Rights Ministry says it has fired the chief warden and six other officials from an island prison for letting inmates operate a massive drug-smuggling operation.

Dasep Suryana, chief warden of Besi Penitentiary on Nusakambangan Island off Cilacap district, Central Java, and six of his subordinates were fired after an inspection uncovered a drug ring that had smuggled in at least 29 tons of methamphetamine during the past eight years, an official said on Wednesday.

Chaeruddin Idrus, head of the Justice Ministry’s provincial office, said the ministry would conduct an internal investigation of the case before handing it over to the police.

“Even if the correctional officers weren’t involved in the narcotics, they have still been relieved of their duties, as per the 1995 Prisons Law, and will be handed over to the police,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

Cilacap Police Chief Adj. Comr. Rudi Darmoko said his office had sounded the warning about possible drug dealing at the prison and had notified the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).

“As soon as we heard rumors of narcotics being brought to the island in large quantities, we carried out an investigation with the help of the BNN and correctional officers we knew to be clean,” he told the Globe.

He added that in the sting operation, officers nabbed four inmates from three prisons on the island for running a smuggling ring.

Rudi said the mastermind, an inmate named Yoyok from Besi Penitentiary, was believed to have brought in 29.2 tons of methamphetamine into the prison island over the past eight years, to be sold to inmates.

The BNN estimates the street value per kilogram of the drug is around Rp 2 billion ($228,000).

The three other inmates, from Kembangkuning and Narkotika penitentiaries, were nabbed with small amounts of meth and heroin in their possession.

“We then carried out urine tests on all the inmates and correctional officers, from which we could see who had been using drugs,” Rudi said.

Central Java Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Djihartono said his office was working on a deal with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry that would give the police greater authority to supervise the access to the prisons on Nusakambangan.

“We will post sniffer dogs at each entry point to the island,” he said.

“We’re not going to take over the management of the prisons, but given this latest finding, we’ll certainly be looking out for irregularities and violations by both inmates and correctional officers.”

Chaeruddin said police would also be authorized to install cellphone signal tracking and jamming devices at all the island’s prisons by April.

“We’re bringing in equipment to ensure that no cellphone signal gets in or out of there,” he said.