axxxr
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From: Londinium
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While drugs, along with cash and tobacco, have long been highly valued contraband, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) officials say cell phones have joined the ranks of the most prized illicit commodities inside Texas prison cells, reports The Houston Chronicle.
"It's a big problem," said Lt. Terry Cobbs of the prison system's inspector general's office. "And they're not getting the phones so that they can call their mothers on Mother's Day. They're getting them to keep their communications open on the outside with their organized criminal activities and to make sure they're getting all the drugs that they need.
The Texas Legislature attempted to address the problem in 2003 by making it a third-degree felony to provide an inmate with a cell phone, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Nevertheless, said Cobbs, inmates keep finding ways to get the phones into prison".
How inmates around the world use cell phones is a recurring issue
-- Crossed signals over jail mobile phone jamming - The New South Wales Government has accused the Federal Government of blocking a trial of mobile phone jamming in the State's jails
-- Prisoners shown smoking drugs and using mobiles - A Brazilian TV station has shocked the country by screening footage of maximum security prisoners freely smoking cannabis and using mobile phones.
-- Inmate Sentenced for Nextel Phone Scam - A US inmate used a jail telephone to impersonate Hollywood executives and dupe Nextel Communications out of more than 1,000 cell phones.
-- Mobiles in top security prison - Four mobiles were discovered hidden by inmates at one of Britain's top security prisons.
-- Staying well connected in jail - A mafia don in prison in New Delhi, planned the killing of Police officers by SMS.
-- Convict ran drug ring from prison - A Canadian inmate organized a cocaine run from Miami to Canada. Partners on the outside paid for his cell phone bills through phone cards.
[addsig] |
Posted: 2004-06-07 15:49
