Two people charged as part of a major investigation into alleged corruption at North Island prisons can now be identified after their name suppression lapsed.
Stevee Ormsby and Matthew Sale are among 24 people charged following a nearly year-long police investigation, which uncovered allegations of staff smuggling drugs, mobile phones and other contraband into prisons in exchange for cash.
Ormsby, 34, a farmer from the Rotorua area, is charged with corruptly offering a bribe to a prison official with the intention of influencing them to introduce an unauthorised item into prison.
She faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison if convicted.
Sale, 35, from Auckland, is charged with using a mobile phone while in prison without authorisation. Court documents allege he used the device while in the legal custody of Corrections.
He faces a maximum penalty of three months in prison, a $5000 fine, or both if convicted.
Other defendants charged in the investigation included Corrections officers, reintegration officers, prisoners and members of the public. They cannot be named at this stage.
Twenty-one of those charged previously appeared in the Auckland District Court, where they pleaded not guilty. At the time, three others had yet to enter pleas.
A trial has been scheduled to begin in February 2028.
Dubbed Operation Jasper, the police investigation began in July 2025 following allegations of criminal activity at Mt Eden Corrections Facility.
Detective Inspector Colin Parmenter has said several prison guards were suspected of smuggling mobile phones, drugs, tobacco and other contraband to inmates inside the facility.
"Police believe the phones were used by prisoners to continue drug importation and distribution from within the Mt Eden facility," Parmenter previously said.
The investigation was later expanded to Auckland South Corrections Facility in Wiri, where police alleged several Serco-employed reintegration officers were involved in similar offending.
Police executed 25 search warrants across Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, including a search of a cell at Spring Hill Corrections Facility near Meremere.
In May, 20 people were charged, including nine Corrections officers from Mt Eden, one from Spring Hill, five reintegration officers from Auckland South and five members of the public.
In August, police announced a further 33 corruption-related charges against people already charged as part of the operation, bringing the total number of charges faced by the group to 141.
Police said the additional charges required the Attorney-General's consent to prosecute.
At the time of the initial arrests, Corrections said it had assisted police with inquiries throughout the investigation and would not tolerate criminal behaviour within its prisons.
Chief executive Rachel Leota said the overwhelming majority of Corrections 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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