According to one inmate, they accept money to smuggle cellphones into the facility.
Berto (not his real name), however, refused to reveal their names.
He said the most common cellphone brands are Vivo and Oppo as these can easily be concealed.
“The cellphones are ordinary, although considered ‘Class A.’ Each one can cost as high as P50,000 to P60,000,” he said in Cebuano.
It’s Berto’s second stint inside the Cebu City Jail, which is in Barangay Kalunasan. He was arrested again last week during a simultaneous anti-criminality and law enforcement operation.
He said these jail officials inform inmates about impending greyhound operations and instruct them where to hide their gadgets. However, big-time drug personalities would just leave their gadgets with them for safekeeping.
“Let’s say I’m a big-timer. I will just say, ‘You take care of my gadget and I will take care of you.’ Majority of jail officials who engage in these shenanigans are old-timers,” he said in Cebuano.
Cigarettes are popular smuggled items and these don’t come cheap, he said.
Jail Officer 3 Blanche Bation, spokesperson of the Cebu City Jail Male Dormitory, said Superintendent Gregorio Acacio, the warden, is willing to cooperate with authorities in an investigation.
“During our talk, the warden said he is very open to coordinate and to cooperate with the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency if and when necessary. This is related to the allegation of the inmate who accused jail officials of smuggling cellphones into the facility,” Bation said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
If the allegations are proven to be true, those involved will be prosecuted, she said.
Officials of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which supervises and controls all city jails, are also looking into claims of many arrested drug personalities that they have contacts inside the Cebu City Jail or get their supply of illegal drugs from the facility.
The BJMP promised to pay close attention to even the smallest detail revealed by these drug personalities to put a stop to inmates who continue their illegal drug trade behind bars. (AYB / TPT)
