Costa Rica News – For all those criminals out there that still need to run their businesses or talk to their family while locked up, it will cost a pretty penny.
Cell phone traffickers to prisons get up to ¢400,000 per device. Groups are even hiring people overseas to bring phones in. Once in the prison they are sold for higher sums, even double.
Each year, 3,000 cell phones are confiscated in the penitentiary system, where the use of cell phones is prohibited. Having access to cell phones can help criminals continue to lead gangs or organize crimes. In the last two years, at least 9 crimes were organized from prison.
It is not known how many organizations are involved in phone trafficking. The police chief referred to it as a “black market that moves a lot of money.” Because of the high price paid for the phones, some working for the prisons have participated in trafficking.
Until now, giving an inmate a phone could cause detrimental effects on society. But soon this may change. The Legislative Assembly approved a project to block the cellular signal in penal centers.
