Police in Malta have opened an investigation into a suspected murder plot after three mobile phones were found last week during routine cell searches at the Corradino Correctional Facility.
MaltaToday reported that the phones were in the cells of Robert Agius, known as Tal-Maksar, George Degiorgio, known as iċ-Ċiniż, and Italian national Damiano Torrisi.
Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield said prison authorities seized an average of 40 mobile phones a year between 2008 and 2012. "That amounts to 200 phones," he said. "We found three, let's keep that in mind."
He later said he is seeking legislative amendments to make the possession and use of mobile phones in prison a criminal offence.
Bedingfield also plans to present a motion in Parliament next January to expand electronic tagging, citing a prison population of more than 8,000 people from 78 nationalities and a cost of about €145 per prisoner per day.