Dozens of mini mobile phones have been seized in French prisons. Convicted criminals were using them to conduct their business from behind bars, local police and the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
In a nationwide raid codenamed “Prison Break,” authorities targeted mini mobile phones from China whose French distributor had deliberately advertised that they would not be detected during security checks at prisons. According to French authorities, as cited by Magyar Nemzet, the company’s website has been blocked and customer identification data was analyzed.
A total of 164 mobile phones were seized in the raids carried out in 66 prisons, including 88 mini mobile phones. Another 500 of the small devices were found waiting for delivery in a warehouse, as well as €70,000 euros in cash. The dealer was investigated for illegal transactions and two suspects were taken into custody.
“Here you can find our mini mobile phones and accessories that do not trigger an alarm when entering,” the website of the distribution company reads, with an image of a lighter-sized mobile phone.
According to the police report, the devices were specifically designed to be undetectable and many have been used to commit crimes from prison, including drug crimes, fraud, arson, money laundering, and to order contract killings.
Experts are now analyzing the seized mini-phones, and the users have been identified by the French intelligence service’s penitentiary department. French investigators estimate that around 5,000 of these devices may have been used to commit crimes behind bars.
MTI reports that Eurojust, the European Union agency responsible for judicial cooperation between the European Union member states, reported on Thursday that French investigators had discovered that the mini mobile phones were being sold worldwide. Eurojust is now passing on the relevant information to EU member states. It also pointed out that these phones contain only a few metal parts and have special settings that make them easy to hide during security checks.
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