Chinese inmate fined for cocaine found in maximum-security prison transfer

A Chinese national awaiting trial on homicide and kidnapping charges was fined 71,649 pesos (US$75) by a Santiago court after guards discovered roughly one gram of cocaine hidden in two sealed bags during a routine search at Santiago Uno prison on August 12.

Haifeng Tang was found with the drug just one day before his scheduled transfer to La Laguna, Chile's maximum-security facility and the centrepiece of President Jose Antonio Kast's hardline prison reform agenda. A field test confirmed the powder as cocaine.

Transfer cleared despite contraband

The incident exposed a gap in security protocols, as Tang had been approved for the high-security transfer to La Laguna even while carrying illegal narcotics. The Seventh Guarantee Court of Santiago, which handles pre-trial matters, handed down the fine on Monday and gave Tang the option of serving up to six months if he fails to pay.

Tang remains in custody facing a raft of serious charges including homicide, prosecutors have identified the victim as another Chinese citizen, along with kidnapping, drug trafficking, weapons possession and criminal association.

Link to organised crime network

Chilean prosecutors have connected Tang to a Chinese criminal organisation that has been the target of at least two major law-enforcement operations: a large-scale police raid last year and a follow-up operation in June. Monday's ruling marked the second time in five months that a court has penalised a Chinese inmate linked to the same network for drug possession inside a Chilean jail.

The breach underscores the challenge authorities face in preventing contraband from circulating even in facilities designated for the country's most dangerous offenders.

Source: South China Morning Post