Las Vegas, NV (KXNT) – High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs is now Nevada’s maximum security prison, following a large prisoner swap last weekend.
Medium security inmates from Indian Springs were transferred up to Ely, and the maximum security inmates were sent down to Indian Springs.
Ely is now the prison where all medium-security inmates will be housed.
The move was only announced last week, and the prisoner swap was done quietly over the weekend. In total, nearly 2000 inmates were moved.
Prison officials say they kept the swap a secret not only for the safety of Department of Corrections workers, but for inmates who may have been targeted by gangs.