The Ministry of Defense intervened the La Victoria Jail for 15 hours on Monday, 31 January 2022, responding to a request made by the Attorney General Office. Soldiers temporarily took control of the La Victoria Jail to locate and occupy weapons in possession of the inmates. The announcement follows the gang clashes on 16 January 2022. The jail has a population of more than 7,500 inmates.
“We are doing this inspection to bring peace of mind to the thousands of households who have a relative in La Victoria and hope that their relative can serve their sentence in an environment where their physical integrity is guaranteed,” said Roberto Hernandez, director of the Prisons Agency of the Attorney General Office.
An Attorney General Office press release explains that the operation is led by the penitentiary authorities and aims to guarantee the physical integrity of the prisoners, who may be exposed to situations of violence, as happened with a confrontation between two groups on 16 January 2022.
Hilda Patricia Lagombra, director of Correction and Rehabilitation Centers, said that after the brawl, the authorities seized more than 20 cell phones, three Internet routers and 85 bladed weapons of prison and industrial manufacture, a firearm, and RD$119,000 and US$21 dollars from six of the inmates.
She explained the recent extensive search operation took place with absolute calm and tranquility. Canine units of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) participated in the search.
The authorities said that a considerable number of pets were found and would be relocated.
This is the second major search of the Victoria Jail under the Abinader administration. A first was carried out in September 2020 when new authorities were named to the Attorney General Office and the prisons agency. At the time, a contingent of around 1,000 military took over the jail to carry out the search for illegal items.
Read more in Spanish:
Attorney General Office
El Caribe
Diario Libre
N Digital
Hoy
Diario Libre
El Dia
1 February 2022