A Manitoba judge says that a Brandon inmate who died of a morphine overdose probably got it from two other prisoners who snuck the drug into the jail.

Judge John Combs recommends corrections officers take more precautions to prevent drugs being smuggled into prisons after he believes the morphine was smuggled in hollow chocolate kinder eggs.

Combs is the judge that oversaw an inquest into the death of a high-ranking member of a motorcycle gang, and he says that inmates should not be told the details of where and when they are going for community visits or medical appointments.

39-year-old Jean Paul Beaumont was found dead in his cell at the Brandon Correctional Centre. Just days before Beaumont’s death, his cellmates arranged a drug drop after they were told about a doctors appointment.

The heads-up gave enough time for the inmates to arrange for someone to leave drugs in a hospital bathroom.

Combs also recommends that the officers escorting inmates in the community should allow them to use obvious public bathrooms.

He suggests that inmates be escorted to bathrooms on different floors or other parts of the building.

The judge notes that drugs have also been smuggled into the jail through the mail that wasn’t being pre-screened by guards.

Since Beaumont died, the mail couriers policy has been changed.

Combs also recommended exploring installing panic alarms in cells, and that officers make thorough welfare checks on inmates during their rounds.