Almost 100 prison inmates from the U.S. Virgin Islands have swapped their cells in the Caribbean for some in Virginia.

Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections, said the five female and 93 male prisoners were flown to the Tri-Cities Airport on Sept. 27, under a contract which pays Virginia $75.35 a day per inmate.

The amount the state makes from the deal was not immediately available yesterday. But the Virginia Department of Corrections said the average annual cost for each Virginia inmate is $22,830, or $62.55 a day.

The new inmates are being kept at the Wallens Ridge State Prison, the Keen Mountain Correctional Center and the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. The transfer brings the total number of Virgin Islands inmates in Virginia to 130.

Gordon Hickey, spokesman for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, said that Virginia has stopped importing inmates, except for those the department of corrections had signed prior contracts to handle.

Traylor said that the department first signed the contract with the Virgin Islands in April 2001. Virginia also houses 290 Wyoming inmates and two from Hawaii.

Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or fgreen@timesdispatch.com.