The confiscated cards
The confiscated cardsIsrael Prisons Service spokesperson

In a joint operation, the Israel Prisons Service (IPS) and Israel Police uncovered a network for smuggling calling cards and SIM cards to Israeli prisons.

Intelligence information collected over time in a number of jails throughout Israel led to a joint operation in central Israel, with police from the Beit Shemesh police station cooperating with IPS intelligence.

As part of the operation, a search was conducted in the cell of a prisoner serving his sentence in central Israel, who is suspected of involvement in distribution of phone cards. Many such cards were found in his prison cell.

Parallel to this, in a focused operation, many calling cards, a pistol, cellular phones, and a large sum of money were found in the home of a Beit Shemesh woman affiliated with the prisoner.

Management of the matter has been transferred to the Yahalom Unit and the Tax Authority for further investigation and management of the economic aspects of the case.

The IPS responded: "The Prisons Service, in coordination with law enforcement bodies, continues to act determinedly and professionally against all attempts to bring forbidden communications devices into prisons. This activity is essential to maintaining order and security at the prisons, and to prevent the continuation of criminal activity from within the prisons."