Drones now used to smuggle drugs into jails —BJMP

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology  (BJMP) is on alert for drones that are now being used to slip in illegal drugs to waiting inmates in jails.

"Iyong mga personnel na naka-assign isa ito sa binabantayan nila. Pwede naming barilin 'yan o pabagsakin 'yan," Superintendent Xavier Solda, BJPM spokesperson said in Jun Veneracion's report on "24 Oras."

Solda said there have been instances when jail personnel have downed drones using rubber bullets.

The unmanned aerial vehicle is prohibited inside jails and in their surrounding areas.

Last year in Davao City, a drone fell into one of the province's facilities carrying illegal drugs.

The BJMP said cellphone jammers could block the operation of drones, but only a few out of the 477 jail facilities in the country has jammers.

As the holiday season ushers in, Solda said personnel are on alert for attempts to sneak in illegal drugs and other contrabands.

In one facility, a visitor was caught hiding sachets of shabu inside the sole of his shoes.  Jail personnel also foiled an attempt by another visitor to bring in liquid shabu in an eye drop container.

Solda warned that once caught smuggling illegal items in facilities, guests would now be among the detainees they once visited.—LDF, GMA News