Buzz
Prison and smuggling are inseparable. Inside the prison walls, the price of contraband skyrockets. To smuggle items in, inmates rely on pigeons, drones, sandwiches, and even corrupt guards. Popular items include drugs and weapons, but increasingly, phones, steroids, erotic literature, and even semen are being smuggled in and out.
10. The Pigeon Phone
In February 2017, prison guards in Brazil intercepted a pigeon attempting to smuggle a mobile phone. Authorities from Sao Paolo’s Franco da Rocha prison suspect the bird was on its way to deliver the phone to an inmate. Guards became suspicious when they saw an inmate trying to catch the pigeon. Upon inspection, they found a pouch containing a phone and its battery securely attached to the bird’s body. The recipient of the phone remains unidentified.
This wasn’t the first instance of pigeon smuggling in prisons. In September 2016, guards in Colombia intercepted a pigeon carrying a mobile phone and a USB stick. Earlier, in 2015, prison officials at Costa Rica’s La Reforma prison captured a pigeon with 14 grams of cocaine and 14 grams of marijuana hidden in a pouch. Over the years, reports have surfaced about prisoners using animals like cats and iguanas to smuggle drugs into prisons.
9. Palestinian Prison Paternity
In 2013, fertility specialists in the West Bank revealed that 10 Palestinian women had been impregnated using sperm smuggled out of Israeli prisons. Dr. Salem Abu Kahizaran remarked, 'I don’t know how they do it, and I don’t want to know how they do it.' Sperm is often transported to fertility clinics in bottles, plastic cups, or other containers. If kept under the right conditions, sperm can survive for up to 48 hours before needing to be frozen. However, many samples arrive unfit for use.
Palestinians convicted of 'security offenses' are not permitted conjugal visits. Fertility clinics primarily cater to women whose husbands are serving lengthy isolation sentences. Before fertilization can take place, approval must be given by two members of the husband’s family and two from the mother’s side. This practice became well-known because women were encouraged to share their fertilization stories, helping them avoid gossip and the negative consequences of their pregnancies while their partners are incarcerated.
8. Drone Drop-Off
In February 2016, the BBC reported a surge in drone-related smuggling incidents into prisons. The number of cases jumped from zero in 2013 to 35 in 2015. Out of these, 19 drones were recovered, with six involved in smuggling drugs and more than eight carrying mobile phones. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice recorded five instances of 'unknown packages,' which they suspect were delivered by drones, though their contents remain undisclosed.
A variety of solutions have been suggested to combat drone smuggling. Dedrone has developed a system called DroneTracker, which can detect drones flying as high as 5,010 meters (16,440 feet). Some have proposed using jammers to disrupt Wi-Fi and radio signals, although jammers are currently illegal unless granted special permission for prison use. In a more unconventional approach, researchers at Michigan Technological University have designed a drone-catching drone that captures targets with a net. Meanwhile, the Dutch National Police have introduced a more traditional method: using trained eagles to hunt drones.
7. Fifty Shades of Misconduct
On November 4, 2014, a British nurse admitted to smuggling the erotic novel 'Fifty Shades of Grey' to her secret inmate lover. Kimberly Hinde, who worked as a substance abuse nurse at HMP Wealstun, fell for Lee Stephenson. Investigators revealed that Hinde would spend long periods with Stephenson in private 'consultations.' Afterward, she would return looking 'flustered.' Prison officials later searched Stephenson’s cell and found letters discussing their relationship and the book.
Initially, Hinde denied the affair. However, she ultimately pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office. The plea was based on the argument that the relationship was 'overly familiar' but not sexual. She was sentenced to nine months, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. The court found that Hinde continued her relationship with Stephenson even after her suspension, using an alias to conceal her identity in their correspondence.
6. Sub Smuggling
In January 2017, a Florida probation officer was arrested for attempting to smuggle a sub sandwich to an inmate at Leon County Jail. Jerilyn Harris, 39, requested to speak with inmate Tarvell Douglas about a hearing in her office. The request raised suspicions as it was an unusual one, and it wasn't the first time it had occurred. After the meeting, an X-ray revealed that Douglas had hidden a Publix Italian sub, packaged pastries, and candy in his jail uniform.
In the same month as the Publix sub incident, a former Chicago police dispatch supervisor was indicted as the fifth participant in a smuggling operation that used sandwiches to transport tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol into Cook County Jail. Jason Marek confessed to the sandwich smuggling. According to the testimony of coconspirator Stephanie Lewis, her inmate boyfriend, Prince Johnson, had her look up Marek’s personal information to intimidate him if he stopped the contraband deliveries.
5. Suitcase Stowaway
In January 2017, a Venezuelan woman was apprehended for trying to smuggle her lover out of prison hidden in a hot pink suitcase. Antoineta Robles Saouda, 25, accompanied by her six-year-old daughter, went to Jose Antonio Anzoategui prison to free Ibrain Jose Vargas Garcia, who was serving a 10-year sentence for car theft. The plan was thwarted when Saouda struggled with the bulging suitcase, prompting guards to investigate. Inside, they discovered Garcia contorted and twisted, trying to squeeze into the case along with her daughter's toys.
Saouda was immediately arrested, and her daughter was placed into temporary care by social services. Before Garcia was returned to prison, guards made him climb back into the suitcase for a few photos. Family visits and overnight stays are typical in Latin American prisons, and Saouda took advantage of the opportunity to sneak in the hot pink suitcase. Saouda's charges are still pending.
4. Sperm Syringe
In January 2017, a British prison officer was sentenced to nine months in prison after attempting to smuggle the semen of a convicted kidnapper out of HMP Garth. During a routine search, authorities discovered a syringe filled with semen hidden in the handbag of 47-year-old grandmother Alison Sharples. Additionally, a letter from the inmate Marvin Berkeley was found in Sharples’s underwear drawer. Sharples was found guilty of misconduct in a public office.
The trial revealed that Sharples had developed a deep attachment to Berkeley. One of Sharples's friends claimed that she had received the semen under the prison door and planned to use the syringe, typically used for Calpol, 'like a turkey baster.' When the affair was uncovered on October 23, 2014, Berkeley was mere weeks away from parole. Berkeley and his twin brother, Michael, had been convicted in 2007 for leading a hijacking crew in Manchester. DNA testing showed the sperm could belong to either brother, but with Michael being in a different prison, the donor’s identity was soon clear.
3. Steroid Racket
On November 14, 2015, a corrections officer was sentenced to one year and nine months for conspiring to smuggle steroids into a British prison. Matthew Taylor, a 23-year-old former Royal Marine, had teamed up with a career criminal at HMP Oakwood. Inmate Michael Clarke, 47, acted as an intermediary between his partner on the outside, Donna Duffus, 39, and Taylor. However, the smuggling plot never came to fruition as Taylor had second thoughts and demanded more money. His conversations with Duffus were recorded.
Taylor pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and conspiracy to supply a prohibited article. Clarke was sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Duffus, who had purchased the steroids online, was handed a 12-month community order. Taylor had previously earned £300 smuggling creatine. The prevalence of steroid use in prisons is still unclear, but there is widespread speculation that it is common in an environment where aggression and muscular appearances are highly valued.
2. Keistered Cell Phone
On February 4, 2016, an inmate at HMP Manchester reported severe abdominal pain. Prison staff quickly transported Stephen Cavanagh, 32, to the healthcare wing, suspecting gallstones. An X-ray, however, revealed something entirely unexpected: a mobile phone concealed within the inmate’s anal cavity. Correctional officers then escorted Cavanagh to a segregation unit where he was compelled to pass the phone.
In 2013, US correctional officers confiscated 4,200 mobile phones—an average of 11 per day. Inmates use diapers, soup packets, drinks, and corrupt guards to smuggle these sought-after items into prison. Mobile phones are critical for planning escapes, making threats, and continuing illegal activities from behind bars. In one notable case, two convicted murderers serving life sentences escaped from a Florida panhandle prison. Investigators found a mobile phone in their abandoned cell. Even notorious killer Charles Manson was caught twice with cell phones hidden under his mattress.
1. Horror Footage
In February 2017, a secret video filmed inside Cameroon’s Yaoundé prison was smuggled out and anonymously sent to France 24. Captured between January 21 and 30, the footage exposed the appalling conditions in Units 8 and 9, which inmates had dubbed “Kosovo.” With 2,800 inhabitants, most of whom are poor individuals convicted of theft, the facility lacks basic necessities like beds. Many inmates, unable to afford proper accommodations, are forced to sleep on the floor, earning them the nickname “ground-sleepers.”
Built in 1968, Yaoundé prison was designed to house 1,000 inmates. Today, estimates suggest that the population has swelled to 5,000. The food provided is described as “disgusting” and insufficient, with each person receiving only half a bowl per day. Unit 8, home to 1,300 prisoners, shares just three toilets. Many inmates are forced to relieve themselves wherever they can. Life is merciless in Yaoundé for those who cannot afford bribes. Prisoners convicted of theft are shackled at the ankles for up to two weeks, and in extreme cases, the chains can remain for up to five years if they lack the funds to pay off their guards.
