EDITORIAL — The trail leads to jail

Three people were arrested for dealing drugs recently. They didn’t know each other and hailed from different areas of Cebu City. Two appeared to be seasoned drug peddlers while one was still a student who turned to selling drugs after his fruit business failed.

But there was one thing the three seemed to have in common; they knew someone in prison who was supporting their nefarious business. According to two of them --one of whom was found with ?35 million in suspected shabu-- they sourced their drugs from prison, while the student said it was an uncle who was also in prison whom he “consulted” with on how he could sell drugs.

We can only assume that prison uncle also helped the student get the drugs he sold. And if we further assume that the three arrested drug suspects didn’t know the same person in prison, it might be safe to say that more than one person who is supposed to be behind bars and restricted from any commercial activity, legal or otherwise, actually isn’t.

More often than not, people who are arrested for selling drugs admit they got their drug supply from someone in “prison”. The drug trail always leads to jail, this doesn’t seem to end.

This isn’t the first time we have written about how our prisons are becoming havens for criminals.

Who are the people in prison that are supplying drugs or helping establish drug networks for people on the outside? Are such people beyond the long reach of the law? Then again, it could be worse: Are such people supposed to be behind bars under the protection of those who are more powerful and influential than others?

Are our prisons in fact strongholds for those in the top rung of the drug business?

We have a feeling the authorities know the answers to our questions. Now, for another question: is something being done about this?