A video recording of two women having sex in the Kamloops RCMP drunk tank is not going to turn up on YouTube anytime soon, if the RCMP have their way.

Insp. Tim Shields says only a provincial court judge could make them release the videotape, which is now part of a criminal investigation.

"I was personally asked by numerous media outlets for copies of the video," he said Thursday. "Many media outlets were rubbing their hands together and smacking their lips at the opportunity to put this type of sensational video on their own websites or on their own television stations."

Three RCMP officers and three civilian prison guards at the Kamloops RCMP lockup were suspended this week for allegedly watching the two intoxicated women have sex in a jail cell over a closed-circuit video monitor. A fourth officer remains under investigation pending his return from holidays.

The video record shows not only what happened inside the holding cell but also the guardroom where the men allegedly watched it happen.

Shields said the video is locked up in the exhibits section of the Kamloops detachment and the RCMP have no plans to release it to the media.

If the video evidence was leaked, the person responsible would face serious criminal charges, Shields said.

"Is it theoretically possible that a rogue employee could have made a copy and held onto it? Yes, it is. However, it would be a criminal offence and we would vigorously, quickly and very aggressively pursue that angle and we would charge that employee."