LOOK: Visitor in Surigao del Norte jail yields cassava filled with tobacco leaves

MANILA, Philippines — A jail guard confiscated some 60 tobacco leaves hidden inside cassava crops at the Surigao Del Norte District Jail, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said Friday.

In a Tweet, the BJMP lauded Jail Officer 1 Rea Shenn Hinampas, duty searcher, after she seized the tobacco leaves from a child visitor of an inmate.

https://twitter.com/bjmp_official/status/1185189964310405121?s=21

The photo shows how the cassava crops were hollowed-out to make space for the smuggled tobacco leaves.

In a statement, BJMP spokesperson Jail Chief Insp. Xavier Solda said that prior to the interception of the contraband, the jail warden received information from an inmate that tobacco leaves will be smuggled into the jail.

This prompted the warden to order strict body searches on jail visitors, Solda said.

Hinampas discovered the tobacco leaves as she was inspecting the cassava crops wich were about to be brought inside the jail by the child visitor.

According to the BJMP, the child visitor said the tobacco leaves were for his father who is detained at the jail.

Meanwhile, BJMP director Allan Iral expressed disappointment that inmates are using their children as mules to smuggle contraband into jails.

“It saddens us to see children being used by their parents to sneak in contraband. Still, we will maintain vigilance in guarding the gates of our jails to prevent entry of contraband and continue to promote programs that are beneficial to the welfare of persons deprived of liberty under our care,” Iral said in a statement.  /muf