T.I.'s Wife -- Prison Staff Took PICTURES of Tour Bus!

T.I.'s wife tells TMZ ... multiple prison officials actually saw the tour bus that picked up the rapper yesterday -- and even took photos with T.I. in front of it -- and NOBODY raised an issue.

Tameka "Tiny" Cottle tells us ... when the tour bus rolled up to the Arkansas prison yesterday, prison officials "Walked him over, took pics and told him good luck in life."

TMZ broke the story ... the warden ordered T.I. back into custody after he made the trek to his halfway house, claiming T.I. only informed officials he would be traveling in a van ... and not a tricked out tour bus.

But Tiny says, "This is a bunch of bulls**t ... they should have said something before he got on the bus ... T.I. would have politely gotten into a van."