Mobile phones, tobacco bricks, cigarettes and other contraband items seized from Manila City Jail (MCJ) inmates were destroyed Tuesday morning at the prison grounds in Sta. Cruz district.
Using a road roller and baseball bats, jail officers crushed a total of 303 mobile phones, 47 of which were touch screen phones; four smart watches, 489 bricks of tobacco; 6,511 sticks of tobacco; and 5,920 sticks of Marlboro cigarette.
The said items were confiscated during the year-round Oplan Linis Piitan at the MCJ.
According to Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-National Capital Region (BJMP-NCR) director Brig. Gen. Ignacio Panti, most of the confiscated items were smuggled into the jail by visitors who concealed them in their private parts.
“We were able to intercept them through our intelligence,” he said
The official stressed the need for x-ray scanners to ensure that no unauthorized things will enter their facilities.
“Interior and Local Government Sec. Eduardo Ano already has a program for us to procure x-ray scanners, which will be very helpful so we can avoid getting complaints of human rights violation when our people try to frisk and search further,” Panti said. (Ria Fernandez)
