2 weeks ago
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Senior Investigative Reporter
Illegal cellphones smuggled into Trinidad and Tobago’s prisons—some loaded with prepaid credit values ranging from $8,000 to $11,000—are enabling inmates to run criminal networks from behind bars.
Prison Officers’ Association (POA) president Gerard Gordon said the discovery, made during searches by prison and police officers, exposes one of the most serious security threats facing the nation’s correctional facilities.
Despite intensified security measures, prisons continue to serve as hubs for illicit activity, prompting urgent calls to end the flow of contraband that carries serious consequences.
In an interview with the Sunday Guardian, Gordon emphasised that it was time to stop contraband from entering jails.
The daily use of cellphones by inmates has grown so problematic that it contributed to Government declaring a State of Emergency (SoE) on July 18, highlighting the dangers of inmate communication via mobile phones. Shortly after the SoE announcement, ten inmates were relocated from the Maximum Security Prison (MSP) in Arouca to Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas, following the uncovering of a plot to assassinate high-ranking government officials.
Many of the illegal phones are smuggled into prisons by rogue officers and remain in high demand. Prisoners reportedly pay between $2,000 and $4,000 for a cellphone.
Between January and February of this year, coordinated searches of several cells led to the confiscation of 90 illegal phones by police and prison officers.
Gordon recalled that a telecommunications provider contacted a member of the association’s executive, inquiring about how to address the issue of prisoners holding large prepaid credit on their phones.
“The person (from the phone company) alleged that the prison is responsible for soaking up about 70 to 80 per cent of whatever threshold they have on the system per day. So whatever it was, the prison was soaking up a lot of it,” Gordon explained.
Hour-long searches uncovered numerous illegal phones, some loaded with staggering credit amounts—$8,000, $10,000, and even $11,000. This credit was being replenished by members of the public who knowingly or unknowingly facilitated the illicit activity.
“When we checked the credit of some of these phones, it was $8,000, $10,000 and $11,000,” Gordon said. However, while the prisons seized several phones—some with smaller amounts of credit—he did not reveal how many had top-ups worth thousands of dollars.
An employee from a telecommunications provider explained that prepaid top-up cards can be purchased in-store and sent from one phone user to another on the same network. “There is no limit to the number of transactions one can make in a day,” the worker added.
Additionally, credit can be added directly to a phone via in-store outlets, online platforms, or mobile apps, some of which allow top-ups ranging from $20 up to $500.
One network even offers several convenient top-up options, including electronic, direct, international, automatic online, and standard online methods, many without strict limits on daily credit transfers.
However, one option allows a prepaid customer to top up the phone of another prepaid customer, a minimum of $10 to a maximum of $500 per day, using a bank account or credit/visa card account.
Gordon recounted encounters with people who told him inmates frequently call requesting phone credit. He had to warn them to stop, as assisting prisoners in this way is illegal and could result in criminal charges.
“I met people who told me that prisoners would call them from jail asking for credit on their phone. I had to warn them to desist from doing this because it’s an offence and they could be charged,” Gordon disclosed.
He said inmates would call every member of their family, friends, associates, neighbours and even strangers to “top up their credit” on their illegal phones.
To tackle the problem, he stressed the need to adopt and deploy advanced technologies used in other countries to block illicit communications within prisons. The association questioned whether the jammers, which were designed to block calls, are working or merely for show.
During thorough searches at the Port-of-Spain Prison, officers discovered that prisoners have become incredibly inventive in hiding their phones. They found dummy phones with no SIM cards or batteries, cleverly disguised devices, and even hidden pockets sewn into towels
A towel draped over a string, however, caught Gordon’s attention.
“When I pushed the towel, the way it swung, I knew something was wrong.”
Upon closer examination, Gordon found a hidden pocket in the towel where a cellphone was neatly concealed.
The prisoners also dug several holes in a wall where they stashed phones.
“The hole was covered using softened bath soap that hardened over time. These things are not easily detected. Every inch of the wall we had to knock to determine if it is hollow inside,” Gordon revealed.
Phones were also hidden in buckets, which had false bottoms (or hidden compartments) that only a trained eye could have picked up.
Alerted to impending searches, inmates sometimes tossed phones tied with strings through air vents, making the search a constant game of hide-and-seek.
“It’s always a game of hide-and-seek and catch me if you can,” Gordon said.
“We are dealing with modern criminals who are tech-savvy and overly clever. Their level of ingenuity is high. They communicate with each other to devise ways and places to hide these phones. We would never get a handle on this situation because we are living in the dark ages and these prisoners are living in the current times.”
Last year, then national security minister Fitzgerald Hinds disclosed that 411 cellphones were confiscated in prisons in 2023. Confiscated phones are used as evidence in court.
In July, inmate Rajaae Ali was charged with possession of prohibited items following the discovery of contraband at the Golden Grove Prison.
The charge stemmed from an incident on June 25, 2025, when Ali was allegedly found with a Samsung cellular phone, an unbranded SIM card, and a phone charger—items classified as prohibited without the express permission of the Commissioner of Prisons.
Ali is one of the ten prisoners relocated from MSP.
A person who takes photographs, makes a sound or video recording inside a prison and transmits it outside the prison can be fined $250,000 and imprisoned for ten years.
Over the years, dozens of prison officers have faced charges for trafficking illegal items, with penalties including fines up to $500,000 and prison sentences as long as 15 years. However, there were no records online of prison officers being convicted or jailed specifically for cellphone trafficking.
Once charged with trafficking, a prison officer is suspended with half or three-quarters pay.
If found guilty, dismissal becomes an option.
Prison officers can be fined $500,000 and imprisoned for 15 years for smuggling contraband.
TSTT: No daily limit on top-up transactions
The Sunday Guardian sent questions to Digicel and TSTT on Friday, querying if their providers had a top-up limit per day on prepaid phones.
Digicel’s head of public relations Colin Greaves did not respond, while a statement issued by TSTT yesterday stated that “bmobile’s prepaid services have a maximum top-up of $500 per transaction, with no daily limit on the number of transactions. Balances can grow over time with successive top-ups”.
The provider added, “We have internal monitoring systems that flag unusual patterns and work closely with authorities where required. We do not comment on specific accounts.”
Figueira: It will continue unless the authorities take the bull by its horns
Criminologist Daurius Figueira said everyone knows why cellphones are highly sought after in prison.
“Cellphones are the main tool gang leaders use to run criminal enterprises from the outside,” he explained. Gang leaders employ foot soldiers who pay others to top up their phones, using multiple numbers to evade detection. “They have the money, and it’s a deliberate strategy,” Figueira said.
He added that lengthy delays in court cases allow criminals to establish control inside prisons, recruiting others and solidifying their influence.
“Governments have repeatedly failed to resolve this problem,” Figueira said bluntly. “This will only continue unless the authorities take the bull by its horns.”
English (US) ·