Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusan has said that they have been able to significantly bring down the number of scam calls made from prisons.
Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusan has said that they have been able to significantly bring down the number of scam calls made from prisons.
Responding to a question posed by Huraa MP Anara Naeem during today's parliamentary sitting, Ihusan said that it was observed that scam calls and other such activities in prisons were prevalent.
He said that under efforts to combat this, 19 prison officers who colluded in such offences were suspended, and a large number of phones were seized from inside the prison.
In an operation held by Police in June, over 18 prison officers from Maldives Correctional Service were arrested for making illicit gains of over MVR 73 million through smuggling in contraband such as drugs and phones into prison.
After this operation, such activities have been much reduced, but not entirely eradicated, the Minister said.
Ihusan said that efforts are ongoing to establish geofencing around the prison, which would block incoming and outgoing calls.
Ihusan said that when he had assumed office, it was common practice for contraband to be smuggled into prison, saying at the time there were no arrangements to conduct checks on prison officers entering the premises.
However, now there is a temporarily placed metal detector, with a full body scanning machine now in the process of being procured.
He further highlighted that a Scam Centre has been established in Maldives Police Service, and the speed of recovery of funds stolen in scams has also been increased.
Sign In