Despite promising to increase security following a inmate party in September, Brazilian officials are investigating why 2,600 cans of beer were delivered to a Rio de Janeiro prison that holds former military police charged with crimes.
Public Security Secretary Jose Mariano Beltrame confirmed that a military police lieutenant, on duty when the contraband was delivered Sunday, was arrested and charged with breach of orders. He was later transferred to a holding facility in downtown Rio.
Beltrame also said that authorities have identified everyone involved with the illegal beer delivery. Although no other suspects were named, investigators stated that the 2,600 cans of beer were intended for an inmate named "Fabio."
One officer investigating the incident suggested that the beer may have been destined for other businesses in the neighborhood, rather than being smuggled into the prison another inmate party.
Officials at the Special Prison Battalion (Batalhão Especial Prisional - BEP) in northern Rio de Janiero have been criticized for lax security measures, most recently when photos of an inmate party were leaked to the press in September. The photos feature a former military police officer, Carlos Ribeiro, alleged member of the Justice League (Liga de Justica) militia and accused of at least 16 murders, partying inside the prison facility with other inmates and visiting family members. He later escaped from the facility, becoming the latest of several notorious prisoners who have escaped from BEP custody.
Following Ribeiro's escape in September and subsequent publication of the damning photos of the inmate party, prison officials promised to improve security at the BEP. According to O Globo, banned items, including televisions, air conditioners and microwaves, were confiscated from inmates cells. Prison authorities said that inmates would be moved to a new, more secure facility with cameras and x-ray machines.
SUBSCRIBE