THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 recommended imposing stiffer penalties on those caught bringing prohibited items inside the Cebu Provincial Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

In a post-operation report submitted to Gov. Hilario Davide III last week, the PDEA officials said they saw the need for the jail management to impose more severe penalties for inmates, visitors and jail personnel caught bringing cellular phones and illegal drugs inside.

The presence of mobile phones inside the jail makes it easy for the inmates to facilitate illegal drug transactions, according to PDEA.

With such policy, the entry of smuggled goods inside the jail can be prevented, they said in a press statement released by Capitol.

During the Operation Greyhound last Feb. 28, the PDEA and operatives from the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines seized 75 mobile phones, a laptop and an iPad, 19 sachets of white crystals believed to be shabu worth P30,000 and 57 assorted bladed weapons.

Davide requested PDEA 7 to conduct the search after he received reports that drugs and mobile phones still proliferate inside the facility, allegedly in connivance with some jail guards and staff.

The anti-drug agency also proposed to have a rigorous screening process and periodic drug testing for all jail personnel and surprise random drug test for inmates.