France launches operation in 66 prisons to seize mini-mobile phones
French authorities launched a major operation Tuesday to crack down on the use of miniature mobile phones in prisons nationwide, searching 66 jails across the country in a bid to seize thousands of the devices.
The operation, called "Prison Break", aims to seize "miniature telephones put into circulation by a Chinese company and resold in France", Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.
The raids come after the use of the devices was blamed for lawlessness in prisons, with detainees still masterminding drug deals and even contract killings while behind bars.
Searches for the 5,000 such phones estimated to be on French territory had been authorised in around 500 cells, the prosecutor said.
She said the tiny phones -- the size of a cigarette lighter -- had been resold by a French supplier called Oportik, whose website has now been blocked by the authorities after its domain name was seized.
The prosecutor emphasised it was against the law to give any kind of phone to a detainee.
But in 2023 alone, 53,000 devices and accessories were seized, according to the prison administration. And in 2024, more than 40,000, according to figures released by the justice ministry in January.
- 'Designed to bypass prison security' -
The phones can be brought in by relatives during visits, by using drones that are a growing problem for prison authorities, by throwing packages over prison walls, or on occasion even with the help of prison officers.
The devices are marketed as being undetectable by security at the entrances to jails.
"Investigations have established that some of these phones have been used to commit drug trafficking offences, fraud, damage to businesses by fire and attempted murder from inside prisons," Beccuau said.
France's right-leaning government has been under pressure to restore security in prisons after convicted drug trafficker Mohamed Amra, known as "The Fly", escaped detention in May last year.
The tightly coordinated breakout left two prison officers dead.
Amra was finally arrested in Romania after evading arrest for nine months and extradited to France.
Last month, a series of coordinated attacks struck French prisons, including the torching of cars and automatic gunfire targeting some sites, with mysterious inscriptions often left behind.
Prosecutors blamed the attacks on drug traffickers.
The operation is aimed at "seizing, in a coordinated manner, mobile phones specifically designed to bypass prison security in nearly 70 French prisons," Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
"This is a continuation of the tough prison policy we are pursuing, particularly against organised crime," he added.
edy-sjw/ekf/js
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
27 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Latest: Federal appeals court to hear arguments in Trump's bid to erase hush money conviction
Federal appellate judges will hear President Donald Trump's quest to erase his criminal conviction on Wednesday — one of the ways he's trying to get last year's hush money verdict overturned. A three-judge panel is set to consider Trump's efforts to get the New York case moved from state court to federal court, where he could then try to have the verdict thrown out on presidential immunity grounds. Billionaire Elon Musk stepped back from his explosive feud with Trump, writing on X that he regrets that some of his posts went 'too far.' An appeals court is allowing Trump tariffs to continue pending court challenges, extending a similar ruling made after another federal court ruled that he overstepped his presidential authority. And the Justice Department says Trump he has the authority to abolish national monuments meant to protect historical and archaeological sites across broad landscapes, including two in California created by his predecessor at the request of Native American tribes. Here's the latest: Chinese rare earth minerals produced through forced labor, rights group says The Netherlands-based Global Rights Compliance says Avon, Walmart, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and paint supplier Sherwin-Williams may be among companies linked to titanium sourced from Xinjiang, where rights groups allege the Chinese government runs coercive labor practices targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities. The report found 77 Chinese suppliers in the titanium, lithium, beryllium and magnesium industries operating in Xinjiang are at risk of participating in China's 'labor transfer programs,' in which Uyghur are forced to work in factories as part of a long-standing campaign of assimilation and mass detention. The named companies didn't immediately comment. A U.N. report from 2022 found China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, where more than 1 million Uyghurs are estimated to have been arbitrarily detained as China targets terrorism and separatism. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the forced labor allegations are 'nothing but a lie.' President Joe Biden signed a law blocking imports from Xinjiang unless businesses can prove they were made without forced labor. Trump announces that US-China trade deal is 'done' Trump says US will get magnets and rare earth minerals from China in a deal imposing 55% tariffs on Chinese goods — up sharply from the 30% set in Switzerland during talks in May. In return, Trump said the U.S. will provide China 'what was agreed to,' including allowing Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities. Trump recently had begun to clamp down on Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses. Inflation up slightly, costing Americans more for food U.S. inflation picked up a bit last month as food costs rose, though overall inflation remained mostly tame. Consumer prices increased 2.4% last month compared to a year ago, according to a Labor Department report released Wednesday. That is up from a 2.3% yearly increase in April. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.8% for the third straight month. Economists pay close attention to core prices because they generally provide a better sense of where inflation is headed. The figures suggest inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, which would make it less likely that the Fed will cut its key short-term interest rate. Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs. Last week, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the inflation data, said it is reducing the amount of data it collects for each inflation report. Economists have expressed concern about the cutback, and while it isn't clear how sharp the reduction is, most analysts say it is likely to have a minor impact. Still, any reduction in data collection could make the figures more volatile. Trump hails appeals court ruling in favor of his tariffs as a 'great' win for the US Trump commented on the ruling on Wednesday on his social media site, saying, 'A Federal Appeals Court has just ruled that the United States can use TARIFFS to protect itself against other countries. A great and important win for the U.S.,' he wrote. Veterans are divided over the Army's big parade, being held on Trump's birthday Until recently, the Army's long-planned birthday celebration did not include a big parade. Trump's addition, featuring hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft and thousands of soldiers, has divided veterans. Some liken it to the military chest-pounding commonly seen in North Korea, a step toward authoritarianism or a perverse birthday party for Trump. Others see it as a once-in-a-lifetime accounting of the Army's achievements and the military service of millions of soldiers over centuries. The parade is not about Trump, they say, but the public seeing the faces of soldiers when so few Americans serve. The Army expects up to 200,000 people could attend and says the parade will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million. Trump, speaking at Fort Bragg this week, said Saturday would be 'a big day' and noted 'we want to show off a little bit.' Appeals court lets Trump administration keep collecting tariffs while challenges continue The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extends a similar ruling it made after another federal court struck down the tariffs May 28, saying Trump had overstepped his authority. The case involves 10% tariffs the president imposed on almost every country in April and bigger ones he imposed and then suspended on countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. It also involves tariffs Trump plastered on imports from China, Canada and Mexico to pressure them to do more to stop the illegal flow of immigrants and synthetic opioids across the U.S. border. In declaring the tariffs, Trump had invoked emergency powers under a 1977 law. But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled he had exceeded his power. The tariffs upended global trade, paralyzed businesses and spooked financial markets. Elon Musk backs off from feud with Trump, saying he regrets social media posts that 'went too far' Early Wednesday morning, he posted 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.' Musk's break with a president whom he spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect appeared to put an end to his influence in the White House and prompted concerns about effects on his companies. As a major government contractor, Musk's businesses could be particularly vulnerable to retribution, and Trump has already threatened to cut Musk's contracts. Musk earlier deleted a post in which he claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about the president's association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, other posts that irritated Trump, including ones in which Musk called the spending bill an 'abomination' and claimed credit for Trump's election victory, remained live. On Sunday, Trump told NBC's Kristen Welker that he has no desire to repair their relationship and warned that Musk could face ' serious consequences ' if he tries to help Democrats in upcoming elections. A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in Trump's bid to erase his hush money conviction Trump's quest to erase his criminal conviction heads to a federal appeals court Wednesday. It's one way he's trying to get last year's hush money verdict overturned. A three-judge panel is set to hear arguments in Trump's long-running fight to get the New York case moved from state court to federal court, where he could then try to have the verdict thrown out on presidential immunity grounds. The Republican is asking the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene after a lower-court judge twice rejected the move. As part of the request, Trump wants the federal appeals court to seize control of the criminal case and then ultimately decide his appeal of the verdict, which is now pending in a state appellate court.
UPI
30 minutes ago
- UPI
French President Emmanuel Macron pledges to ban social media for children younger than 15
French President Emmanuel Macron said he will ban social media for children younger than 15 if it is not implemented at the European level. Photo by Laurent Cipriani/EPA-EFE June 11 (UPI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said he plans to ban social media for children younger than 15. Macron said in a post on X that the move was based on a recommendation from the experts on the Screens Commission, a group of medical, psychological and legal professionals he assembled in 2024. The group said in April 2024 that in its opinion, for those "from the age of 15, the symbolic age of the digital majority, access to social media should be limited to that with an ethical conception." "Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let's do it," wrote Macron. The European Union has already been at work on efforts to curb teenagers' online time, but Macron further said France will ban access to social media for kids under 15 independently if it's not achieved on a European level. Macron said he would implement the ban independently in France if efforts to limit access to social media for young people are not implemented first. "I'm giving us a few months to get the European mobilization going," Macron said. "Otherwise ... we'll start doing it in France. We can't wait." Macron's announcement followed the stabbing murder of a teaching assistant outside a French school on Tuesday by a 14-year-old student. "It is not acceptable for a child or teenager to have a bladed weapon on the street or at school. We must no longer be able to sell them," Macron also posted Tuesday, "Zero tolerance." Macron had publicly stated Tuesday that "a 15-year-old will no longer be able to buy a knife online." It is unclear whether the alleged suspect in the murder had purchased the weapon used in the killing online.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gisele Pelicot, magazine reach settlement over invasion of privacy
Gisele Pelicot, a French feminist icon who survived nearly a decade of rapes by dozens of men, has reached a settlement with a magazine she accused of taking photos without her consent, her lawyer has said. Attorney Emilie Sudre said late Tuesday that "an amicable settlement" had been reached between Gisele Pelicot and the Paris Match weekly, instead of the case going to court on Wednesday. In April, Paris Match published seven pictures of Pelicot accompanied by a man it described as being her new companion walking in the streets in her new hometown. Her lawyer Antoine Camus at the time said it was "disappointing" that Paris Match would secretly take pictures of Pelicot "whose ordeal was the subject of 3,000 pictures and videos". He accused the magazine of "having learned nothing from the four-month trial" last year that saw her ex-husband and 50 other men convicted. Sudre said Gisele Pelicot had not requested any "compensation" as part of the settlement. Her client instead agreed that the magazine "pay 40,000 euros ($45,000) to two associations supporting victims of violence, including within families", especially children and women, she said. The two non-governmental organisations fund a women's shelter and a riding centre that helps survivors recover, the second based in the southern town of Mazan where much of the abuse Gisele Pelicot suffered took place. Christophe Bigot, a lawyer for Paris Match, said the magazine was "delighted with the solution, which would help victims of violence". Gisele Pelicot, who has since changed her name, gained international acclaim after she demanded her trial be open to the public, insisting it was up to rapists -- not their victims -- to feel ashamed. Dominique Pelicot, her former husband, drugged her for nearly a decade so he and dozens of strangers he recruited online could rape her in her own bed. He meticulously documented the abuse in files on his computer. A French court in December sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Fifty other men, the strangers who he recruited online to carry out abuse alongside him, were also convicted in a trial that saw no acquittals. Seventeen of the other defendants initially lodged an appeal, but sixteen have since withdrawn their claim. The single remaining appellant, Husamettin D., has the right to drop his appeal right up until the opening of his hearing scheduled for October 6. adr-ah/as/giv
