By suits and areas. How drugs and other illicit items get into prisons

In Butyrskaya prison, A4 soaked in LSD was seized from the defendant.

The 36-year-old defendant attracted the attention of the prison staff, because he did not part with empty paper sheets, constantly kept them with him. At the same time, the paper was clean, without notes. The prisoner was first checked for mental abnormalities, but, finding nothing special, the FSIN officers switched their attention to paper.

The sheets were sent for examination, which showed that they were impregnated with narcotic substances, according to preliminary data — LSD.

The man was sent to jail for theft. Now, probably, he is also threatened with a drug article. So far, the transfers for him are being checked more carefully.

How the forbidden gets into prisons

How do illegal and especially narcotic substances get into security facilities with the inspection of everything and everything? «NI» asked this question to lawyers and lawyers who work with prisoners.

— The LSD sheets were carried and handed over either by lawyers or relatives on a date. Or employees of the pre-trial detention center. Letters with text, unlike blank sheets, are transmitted in a special way through the administration of the pre-trial detention center, because correspondence with prisoners is controlled and censored. Empty sheets, however, are not checked by the output after a meeting with a lawyer or relative — the output looked at them, saw that they were without text, did not understand anything. That's how it became possible. Also, the sheets with drugs could be transferred to the arrested person for money by the staff of the pre-trial detention center under the guise of a paper for writing complaints. Such parcels are not sent by mail — there is more evidence to calculate the sender, » comments Moscow lawyer Dmitry July.

Will they open a new criminal case against the prisoner now — under the drug article? This will be decided by the examination, or rather, the recorded weight of the detected prohibited substance. If the dose was suitable only for one-time personal consumption, then there will be no case. But if the weight exceeds this indicator, the man will have to be attracted under Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — illegal possession of narcotic substances, and the one who sent LSD — under 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — illegal shipment.

— Everything gets to the pre-trial detention center and the colony either through employees or through lawyers. But more often through employees. For a man with LSD sheets, everything is now organized in accordance with the Criminal Code. And in accordance with the Penal Enforcement Code, most likely, a SHIZO will be organized for the time being, » Igor Stepanov, a former senior prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office, comments on «NI».

Narcotic substances, by the way, impregnate not only sheets of paper, but also other things that reach prisoners. It happens that syringes are pumped into the juices, says lawyer Irina Biryukova.

She draws attention: before imputing a new charge to the prisoner, it is necessary to check the version of provocation.

— It could have been done by the staff of the pre-trial detention center or someone else could have sent it in the transmission. I think that it is possible to trace along the chain who is behind it in the final link, then it will become clear whether it is his LSD or got to him against his will. A sign of provocation may be, for example, this: the prisoner really asks the jail staff for sheets, postal supplies without a second thought, and there such a surprise is found, while he did not have all this in his personal belongings, » says Irina Biryukova.

— Such sheets are called «stamps», from which small pieces are torn off for use. In the 90s, these LSD sheets were small, and now they are openly carrying whole A4. This is a criminal offense, and it is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Both the sender and the addressee fall under the article, » says criminal lawyer Rustam Chernov.

«Not only drugs, but also phones, barbecue, sauna, sex services — any whim for your money»

Alcohol is also brought into prisons. In the transmission, for example, there is Coca-Cola. Whiskey has already been injected into it with a syringe, but the package still looks like it's sealed, not opened. In fact, the practice of proscription is more common than is commonly thought. It's just that in this particular case, the man and, apparently, his lawyer got caught, Chernov adds.

— About ten years ago, my client, not a poor entrepreneur, found himself in the zone, and almost all the delights of life that he was used to in the wild were available to him. Kebabs, alcohol, girls, a sauna, I could even leave the zone for a couple of days to rest. Everything was busy, everything was rushing, the exchange of services was functioning. Now in hard times, by the way, I'm not sure that this is possible. But then the principle worked in prisons: everything is bought and everything is sold, » says lawyer Ildar Zakirov.

In each colony there is a «lookout» — the one who is responsible for informal interactions with ordinary prisoners. The supervisor agrees with the head of the colony that such and such a prisoner will go on a work shift, let's say, to the same head of the colony or some other customer from the FSIN or to the military commissar. It is not necessary to build cottages. They sometimes have their entire underground production facilities deployed somewhere and operate at the expense of convicts' labor. And now at those productions it is possible to have a barbecue, and a bath, and additional long dates, and so on. Managers at the facilities turn a blind eye to liberties. Such shifts, of course, are organized for money — at the same time, the «receiving party» should not forget to roll back part of the bribe to the «looker, » Zakirov explains.

In the legal community, they also tell about the proscription worse, continues Rustam Chernov.

Daily purchase of freedom and substitution of sitters with doubles

Female lawyers sometimes provide sexual services to their clients in prisons.

There is also the practice of human trafficking.

— A person goes to prison, but he does not intend to sit there. He pays in advance for his absence, at the rate of $ 100-200 per day, he is removed from the wanted list and from all related bases, he receives a passport, leaves the colony and goes abroad. Many of our fellow citizens are then detained in Spain, Mexico for random debauchery, and then it turns out that according to the documents they are actually in Russian prisons. The FSIN is another organization, it's worth bearing in mind, » emphasizes Rustam Chernov.

In cases with VIP convicts, substitution is also used — it happens that innocent doppelgangers sit in the cells for the real criminals. Such work — and they are generously paid for this work, an ex-employee of the federal department told «NI».

How is this possible?

The Federal Penitentiary Service in Russia is supervised by two structures. Firstly, the Special Prosecutor's Office (prison supervision) — these are the bodies of the regional level and, secondly, the Department «M» of the FSB of the Russian Federation — and then secretly. The FSIN does not have its own security.

Who in general will follow and look for some single missing prisoners in colonies where 2000-3000 thousand people are kept? Well, he withdrew and withdrew from the bases. That's so banal and Russian, Chernov concludes.

In May 2022, Butyrka was already checked due to cryptocurrency mining

Then the damage caused to the capital's state institution for 62 thousand rubles was revealed. Electricity was illegally consumed for such an amount. A check was scheduled. The question was raised about the involvement of one of the deputy heads of the SIZO-2 in the crypto farm.

The officer and a group of unidentified persons were suspected of «actions beyond the limits of official authority.»

According to the operational services, in November 2021, cryptocurrency mining equipment was installed in the branch of the FSIN psychiatric hospital in Butyrka. The installation worked until February 2022, spending 8,379.45 kWh of electricity with a total cost of 62,175 rubles 52 kopecks.

«Butyrskaya prison» is the oldest pre—trial detention center in the country, it was built back in 1771.