20-05-2025
Tiny Chinese phones used to order hit jobs from prison
Tiny Chinese-made phones are being smuggled into French prisons and used by inmates to order hit jobs and drug deals, police have said.
Prison cells were raided across the country on Tuesday as authorities launched a search for hundreds of imported devices.
Dubbed Operation Prison Break, investigators began searching 500 cells in 66 detention centres on Tuesday morning, looking for tiny mobile phones that are no bigger than a cigarette lighter and available to buy for as little as £16.
Also known as 'suppositories', the phones are often smuggled by mules inside their bodies and passed on to inmates in visiting rooms, according to Le Monde.
Made mostly of plastic, the phones usually don't set off metal detectors, making them even harder to detect.
The sweeping searches are part of a crackdown against criminals who are too often able to continue to operate and orchestrate crime while behind bars.
'Investigations have established that some of these telephones were used to commit crimes from inside detention, including drugs trafficking, racketeering, arson and attempted murder,' a statement from the prosecutor's office said.
The main supplier, French retailer Oportik, based in Drancy in Seine-Saint-Denis, is said to have sold 5,000 of these mini phones alone. While the phones are legal in France, it is a crime to supply a prisoner with a phone.
Oportik's website has been shut down, it has been ordered to stop trading and three of its staff members have been arrested.
Archived pages of its website promote the ultra-small phones as 'completely undetectable'.
'All our products are prepared to the maximum (unpacked) and tested so as not to set off metal detectors,' the description said.
The L8star was marketed as the smallest phone on the market and the 'benchmark' of ultra-compact mini phones.
'Thanks to its low weight and small size, the L8star is easy to carry and will slip anywhere for optimal discretion,' it said.
To pass security undetected, the phones are stripped of most metal parts.
On its website, the retailer said it aimed to make everyday life easier for lawyers, judges and security personnel who regularly have to pass through metal detectors.
'In your line of work, you regularly have to remove your mobile phones and other accessories as you pass through security gates. Simplify your life and opt for discreet, space-saving equipment. Our products are also aimed at the general public, who are looking for a high-performance, space-saving device.'
But on the Oportik Snapchat account, posts include photos from satisfied customers currently in prison.
One photo captioned 'Well received' is tagged Fleury-Mérogis Penitentiary Centre located in the department of Essonne.
Despite their size, the phones are capable of texting, storing up to 250 phone numbers, and last for an hour's worth of talk time.
Similar phones on the public market include voice modification features, which authorities note is particularly useful for extortion or making telephone threats.
In 2024, more than 40,000 mobile phones were seized in French prisons, Gérald Darmanin, the justice minister, said.
Some prisons have installed mobile phone jamming systems but they have been criticised for being ineffective.
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