DEEP DIVES 
French police have launched an extensive nationwide operation to locate thousands of miniature Chinese-made phones smuggled into prisons. These tiny devices, no bigger than a cigarette lighter, are nearly invisible to metal detectors and have become a secret tool for inmates managing illegal activities from behind bars.
Known among prisoners as “suppositories” due to their ease of concealment, these plastic phones enable convicts to coordinate:
- Drug trafficking
- Racketeering
- Arson
- Attempted murder
The scope of this issue is alarming. Authorities estimate about 5,000 such phones were sold by a French supplier named Oportik, which has since been shut down, and three employees arrested.
Under the dramatic “Operation Prison Break”, French prison officers are searching 500 cells across 66 detention centers. Due to the phones’ small size and plastic casing, traditional security measures struggle to detect them. This creates a significant challenge for law enforcement, allowing criminal networks to operate with alarming freedom while their leaders remain incarcerated.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has promised to crack down on this hidden crime wave. In 2024 alone, French prisons confiscated approximately 40,000 mobile phones. Many devices are smuggled in by corrupt staff or dropped over prison walls by drones. Although some prisons utilize phone-jamming technology, its effectiveness is still uncertain.
This trade in miniature phones is not unique to France; similar devices are widely made in China. While owning such phones is legal, supplying them to prisoners is a serious offense. French prosecutors have shared intelligence with Eurojust, the EU’s judicial cooperation agency, to assist other countries in fighting this covert threat.
The pursuit of these tiny phones reveals a chilling reality: even behind bars, criminals find innovative ways to control dangerous empires. The fight to stop them is just beginning.
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