Inmates now using drones to slip in contraband — BJMP

MANILA, Philippines — Inmates have started using new ways to sneak in contraband, such as illegal drugs, into their cells and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology vowed to stop it.

Jail Superintendent Xavier Solda, spokesperson of the bureau, told DZBB on Sunday that they regularly conduct greyhound operations in jail facilities under their bureau. They also conduct random checking of jail cells to make sure they are clean of contraband.

But the bureau spokesperson said they recently observed the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) have also stepped up in their ways to sneak in contrabands.

“We experienced drones flying towards our facility,” Solda said in Filipino.

“We had a case where the drone fell near our jail facility and we seized an attached one packet of shabu,” he continued.

Solda said that with BJMP Jail Director Allan Iral, they vowed that they will be “two steps ahead” in securing jail facilities.

He also noted that local government units have issued ordinances banning flying unmanned aircraft or drones jail facilities as these pose security concerns for the bureau.

The BJMP is tasked with facilities for those serving sentences shorter than three years and those undergoing trial.

Last week, the Bureau of Corrections — that houses convicts sentenced to more than three years — seized at the New BIlibid Prison thousands of cans of beer, gambling materials, cigarettes, cash, communication devices and weapons in their Oplan Galugad.