Cell phones in cream tubes and drugs between the seams: this is how the forbidden sneaks into prison.

BarcelonaThe few centimeters that a tube of anti-inflammatory ointment measures are enough to hide, protected by plastic wrap, one of the most precious objects inside a prison: a cell phone. It's small, has no internet access, and would cost a few euros in a street shop, but here it allows you to make calls and send messages from a place where communication is scarce. Prison workers use all kinds of tricks to smuggle in and hide anything prohibited. Drugs are also found, often inside the body, but they are also frequently hidden in the soles of shoes or between the seams of clothing. "There are authentic works of art sewn by hand and machine," says one of the officials interviewed.

One of the latest warnings the Department of Justice has sent to prison workers in Catalonia about the hiding places used by prisoners or visitors to conceal objects concerns tampered shoes. According to ARA, a false bottom concealed more than 200 grams of hashish beneath the insole of a pair of Nike shoes. Officials realized this because they noticed that after the visit, the prisoner and his visitor had exchanged shoes.

These attempts to smuggle prohibited items into prison are mostly caught among inmates returning from leave and among family members who visit them, according to the workers interviewed. Packages arriving at the prison undergo rigorous scrutiny, but some inmates try to evade it. A few days ago, officers found a package containing sandals with drugs hidden inside the sole.

The sender of this package is someone who, until then, had never had contact with the inmate who received it. In fact, according to sources, ARA Justicia has warned prison workers that this is already a "common denominator" in the vast majority of seized packages: to receive a package, all that's required is for the inmate to authorize the sender, and they take advantage of this to "hire" people willing to make these shipments.

In the case of these sandals, the scanner didn't detect the drug hidden inside the sole, but other times it can. These devices detect a variety of materials, even non-metallic ones—so many that it can cause confusion, says one worker: "It shows dust, marijuana, plastic objects... Sometimes it can even be confusing if an inmate has repaired the shoes with glue."

Clothing that could hide drugs can also arrive via parcels, although it's usually "more discreet quantities" because it's easier to detect, explains an official. A double layer of stitching, the seams of pants, and even the inside of a pair of pants can hide a few pills or small amounts of hashish or marijuana, explain the workers interviewed.

Therefore, workers must check every corner of the garments and feel every seam. "Clothes must be searched very carefully. I've seen up to 60 pills in the hem of a pair of pants," says another worker with decades of experience in the system. He also recalls how, when prisoners were able to receive food sent by their families, they had found "Valencia oranges that, when cut, looked like pure whiskey" and "overdoses from sausages that had been placed on the cocaine so the fat would suck it out."

When one of these devices manages to evade control and smuggle something into a prison that shouldn't be there, any corner is good for hiding it. Recently, prisons have detected cases such as a fake television box in a cell, made from a cardboard box, used to store drugs or other objects. In the women's prison in Barcelona, ​​​​Wad-Ras, officers recently found a piece of the ceiling plastered with plaster: the bandage and plaster covered a hole that served as a hiding place.

The officials interviewed have also found false bottoms in soda cans, garbage containers, and even books, which is why hardcovers are not allowed. They also explain that it is very common to wrap cell phones or drugs in plastic and flush them down the toilet on a string for retrieval.

When questioned by ARA about the methods for detecting prohibited objects in prisons, the Department of Justice simply stated that it complies with the prison regulations regarding package inspection.