Cell phones, ‘CCTV’ among contraband found in QC Jail

SURPRISE CHECK A cell is turned upside down in the search for banned items. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

A surprise inspection conducted by authorities at the Quezon City Jail on Monday under “Oplan Greyhound” yielded improvised weapons and cell phones—just some of the banned items found in the congested facility.

A joint team from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) swooped down on the quarters of the inmates in the morning, catching some of them by
surprise.

Among the finds of the PNP, BJMP and PDEA personnel were at least 19 metal eating utensils, one of these a spoon with the tip sharpened to resemble a knife.

February riot

Improvised weapons remain a problem for the highly congested city jail, especially after a February riot left a policeman and nine inmates injured. It was caused by an unidentified prisoner punching another inmate, triggering a brawl.

Supt. Emiliano Moral, the jail warden, said some inmates were found to be hiding eating utensils and sharpened pieces of wood which could be turned into weapons against their enemies.

Aside from eight improvised pointed and bladed weapons, also seized were five cell phones, cigarettes made of newspapers and hand-drawn playing cards.

Also discovered was an improvised closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera—a compact disc tied to a stick and being used as a makeshift mirror.

Not the usual hiding places

In one of the dorms, a policeman found a cell phone hidden in a sock and another kept inside a hollowed out plank of wood.

During the raid, inmates were taken out of their cells and held at the jail courtyard where tarpaulins had been strung up to protect them from the rain. They were asked to remove their shirts so that they could be frisked for hidden contraband.

Appointed almost a year ago, Moral said that when he first came in, there was a lot more contraband seized from the inmates.

“Through continuous [Oplan] Greyhound operations, the number becomes much lower than before,” Moral said. “I hope that in the future, the eight [improvised pointed and bladed weapons] will become two, and the 19 [pieces of contraband] will become 10.” — SAMMY WESTFALL