Rio de Janeiro prisons crack down on criminal faction contraband

Penal police in Rio de Janeiro have conducted systematic operations to combat the entry of prohibited items and disrupt communication between criminal factions within the state's prison system.

During recent inspections, authorities seized a portable Starlink satellite antenna that had been hidden inside a radio within a package sent via mail. The equipment was intended for an inmate and has since been transferred to the Laércio da Costa Pellegrino Penitentiary for isolation.

Additional seizures included 31 mobile phones and approximately 300 packets of cocaine at the Alfredo Tranjan Prison (Bangu 2), as well as 160 grams of narcotics at the Jonas Lopes de Carvalho Prison (Bangu 4). The operations were carried out by penal officers from the Operational Subsecretariat of the Secretariat of Penal Police (Seppen).