Originally published Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print
Share
Close-up
Prison guards intercept carrier pigeon with a cellphone
Prison guards foiled a new attempt to smuggle a cellphone into a Brazilian prison by carrier pigeon — this one wearing a tiny backpack — and said Friday that the practice is becoming familiar.
The Associated Press
SÃO PAULO — Prison guards foiled a new attempt to smuggle a cellphone into a Brazilian prison by carrier pigeon — this one wearing a tiny backpack — and said Friday that the practice is becoming familiar.
An exhausted pigeon wearing a small makeshift backpack was intercepted just outside walls at the Danilo Pinheiro prison near Sorocaba, said a spokesman for the São Paulo State Prison Affairs Department. The representative spoke on condition of anonymity.
Inside the backpack was a cellphone and a piece of paper with the name of the inmate who was waiting for the phone, the spokesman said. He declined to reveal the name of the inmate.
"The use of carrier pigeons to smuggle cellphones into prisons is becoming almost commonplace," he said. "Guards now keep a sharp eye on pigeons as well as on inmates."
In March, guards at the same prison saw a pigeon resting on a wire with a small cloth bag tied to one leg. They lured the bird down with food and discovered components of a cellphone in the bag.
In May, police foiled a plot to smuggle cellphones into a maximum-security lockup using a remote-control model helicopter at another Brazilian prison.
Imprisoned Brazilian gangsters use cellphones to coordinate criminal activity outside and inside an overcrowded prison system where torture, killings and gang violence are routine.In 2006, São Paulo's notorious First Capital Command gang — whose leaders are based in prison — used cellphones to launch a wave of assaults on police, banks and buses that left more than 200 people dead.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 10:01 AM
Rebels tighten hold on Libya oil port
UPDATE - 09:29 AM
Reality leads US to temper its tough talk on Libya
UPDATE - 09:38 AM
2 Ark. injection wells may be closed amid quakes
Armed guards save Dutch couple from Somali pirates
Navy to release lewd video investigation findings

general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Electronics
just listed
Solar Panel Super Sale
***Stunning Akc POMERANIAN baby girl W/ FUL...
12 U Select Baseball Coach Wanted
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
434 - Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looming
347 - Sheriff's office unhappy with 911 dispatcher in caseworker's call
282 - 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
235 - Source: NY, California to sign mortgage settlement
219 - Oregon live game thread
155 - Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game
140 - Lakewood cop accused of taking donations for slain officers' families
112 - Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
81 - Thursday morning links --- and a video!!!
72
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- A wandering gene's destructive path | Book review
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review
- UW opening incubator facility for startups
- Controversial principal at Lowell Elementary takes job in Tacoma



