After a search carried out in the Penitentiary Unit No. 11 of Piñeroin the south of the province of Santa Fe, prison agents found a tunnel 70 centimeters in one of the bathrooms in the external courtyards of the high-profile prisoner’s wing.
As reported Virginia Coudannesspokesperson for the provincial government, the discovery occurred within the framework of routine controls and led to the immediate intervention of the Secretariat of Criminal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice and Security, which ordered the closure of the site, the application of sanctions and the opening of an internal investigation.
The discovery of the tunnel in Piñero adds to a series of preventive actions implemented by the local government. Coudannes stressed that these types of procedures are part of a sustained penitentiary control policy promoted by the Santa Fe government. “The searches are not a spasmodic response, but a regularity within the security policy“, held.
The discovery of the 70-centimeter tunnel in Penitentiary Unit No. 11 of Piñero, according to the spokesperson, is an example of the type of situations that the provincial government intends to prevent and punish through a combination of systematic controls, modernization of facilities and legal reforms aimed at strengthening prison security.
In that sense, he pointed out that the current administration reinforced controls in all the penitentiary units of the province through “permanent searches, exhaustive income controls, scanners and new internal security measures”.
The spokesperson also questioned the penitentiary policy of the administration of former governor Omar Perotti, and assured that “if the previous provincial government allowed criminals to govern from prisons, Governor Maximiliano Pullaro made the decision to prevent prisoners from managing criminal organizations from within”.
Likewise, he defended the tightening of controls in penitentiary establishments. “When at the beginning of the administration we showed images of the searches, some spoke of a heavy hand. We maintain that whoever commits a crime must serve the sentence behind bars,” he stated.
During the conference, Coudannes also referred to the progress of the works of “Hell”the new high-profile prison being built by the Province, in addition to other penitentiary establishments planned within the prison infrastructure plan.
On the other hand, the provincial spokesperson confirmed that the Santa Fe Government is making progress in preparing a package of laws on security that will soon be sent to the Legislature.
As explained, the ministers of Justice and Security, Pablo Cococcioniand Government and Public Innovation, Fabian Bastiaheld meetings with legislators from the ruling party to present “the general guidelines of the initiatives that will seek to deepen the province’s security plan.”
“We want to guarantee the rights of victims and not the privileges of criminals,” concluded Coudannes.
