Buenos Aires Province moves to block inmate cell phones to stop prison scams

Councilor Leonel Juliá of La Libertad Avanza presented a proposal to the Honorable Deliberative Council of Junín, urging the Buenos Ayres provincial government to adopt measures that detect, block and prohibit unauthorized mobile phones inside provincial prisons. The initiative seeks to align provincial regulations with national law 24.660, as amended by law 27.375, which bans mobile communications in penitentiaries and calls for the installation of signal‑inhibiting devices. Juliá cited a recent federal decision that authorised the Federal Penitentiary Service to use IMEI/IMSI detection and blocking technology, arguing that the province must follow suit. He warned that inmates continue to commit fraud from within cells, stating, “A person serving a sentence cannot keep scamming, threatening or extorting neighbours from a jail.” The proposal also calls for a coordinated protocol among the provincial Ministry of Justice, the Security Ministry and the penitentiary service, including periodic audits and collaboration with telecom operators.

Juliá urged Governor Axel Kicillof to act, emphasizing that “the security of Buenos Ayres residents must be above politics” and that prisons should not become “call centres of crime.”