Surprise jail inspection yields mobile phones, Nubain, weapons

Personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and penology recovered mobile phone, bottle of Nubian and assorted drug paraphernalia including bladed weapons during their Greyhound operation today, Friday dawn. (PHOTO GRABBED FROM CEBU CITY COUNCILOR DAVE TUMULAK)

Personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) conducted a surprise inspection inside the Cebu City Jail and seized a number of contraband on Friday dawn.

Among those recovered by jail personnel were at least five mobile phones, bottles of Nubain, assorted drug paraphernalia, and bladed weapons. No shabu (methamphetamine) were found.

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters, said the Oplan Galugad was initiated by Senior Supt. Arnel Peralta, the jail warden of the city jail, to clean the facility from contraband.

At present, Tumulak said only about a hundred jail guards are assigned to secure some 4,300 inmates of the Cebu City Jail.

“The ideal number is supposedly 500,” he said.

On Tuesday, Tumulak said the Cebu City Council will pass a resolution, asking the BJMP headquarters in Manila to add more jail guards at the city jail to prevent the entry of contraband.

The city jail, which has a capacity of 1,600 inmates, currently has 4,300 inmates.

With a P101 million from the national government, the BJMP is in the process of constructing another building inside the jail compound.

“Hopefully, this will help decongest the facility,” Tumulak said.