PRISON officials have confiscated some 7,500 cans of beer and a still undetermined amount of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu inside the maximum security compound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City in a recent “Oplan Galugad” operation.
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang Jr. yesterday said over 12,000 assorted contraband items were seized during the operation.
Aside from the canned beers and illegal drugs, Catapang said they also confiscated mobile phones, chargers, improvised weapons and radio communication devices.
The BuCor, Catapang said, is now investigating how the contraband items managed to get inside the national penitentiary.
“Baka malasing ka pag nalaman mo ang presyo (ng isang lata ng beer), P1,000 isa (You might get drunk if you learn how much this (one can of beer) cost, P1, 000 each),” Catapang, who was appointed to the post last week, said.
Catapang had earlier said he will deploy K-9 units in the NBP’s entry and exit points to enhance existing security measures and stop the smuggling of contraband items to inmates.
He also said more close-circuit television cameras will be installed in the national penitentiary.
The BuCor has already installed a signal jammer in the NBP’s maximum security prison where high-profile inmates, including those convicted for drug trafficking, are being held.
Catapang replaced Gerald Bantag, who was suspended for 90 days while an investigation is on-going on the death of a Bilibid inmate who was tagged by the self-confessed gunman in the October 3 killing of veteran radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa in Las Piñas City.
