Twenty-one people charged in a major police investigation into alleged corruption across several prisons have pleaded not guilty in the Auckland District Court.
The defendants — including Corrections officers, reintegration officers, prisoners and members of the public — appeared in court today, where not guilty pleas were entered to charges stemming from the nearly year-long investigation.
Three further defendants have yet to enter pleas, bringing the total charged to 24.
The accused, all with interim name suppression, will appear in the Auckland District Court again in August.
A trial was scheduled to begin in February 2028.
Last month, Detective Inspector Colin Parmenter said police launched an investigation into alleged criminal activity at Mt Eden Corrections Facility in July 2025.
"Several staff working in Mt Eden were allegedly involved in smuggling mobile phones, drugs, tobacco and other contraband into the prison in exchange for cash," he said.
"Police believe the phones were used by prisoners to continue drug importation and distribution from within the Mt Eden facility."
The investigation, dubbed Operation Jasper, was later expanded to the Auckland South Corrections Facility in Wiri, where police allege that several Serco-employed reintegration officers were involved in similar offending.
Police also searched a cell at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility during the execution of 25 search warrants across Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty last month.
At the time, Corrections said it would not tolerate criminal behaviour inside its prisons.
Chief executive Rachel Leota said the “overwhelming majority” of staff acted with integrity and professionalism.
"Criminal activity in our prisons will not be tolerated and any prisoners or staff taking part in this sort of activity will be found out and held to account."
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