Cell phones, scams, and mafias: two decades of gangs inside Córdoba prisons

Police officers arrived from Salta to track down a gang operating in the Cordoban town of Río Cuarto. For two decades, inmates have had access to cell phones: at first, they carried out extortions; later, complex scams, drug trafficking operations, and orders for vendettas. All of this, in the shadows of the Córdoba Penitentiary System (SPC).

Outside the prison walls, this gang had been dubbed "Los Loros." Inside the walls, the gang of inmates had created a criminal apparatus that caused high profits for them. Their scheme revolved around cars for sale and scams repeated with precision.

From the Río Cuarto prison, the third most important in Córdoba, they began to operate against victims from Salta and other provinces. The police from the northern province intervened with support from Córdoba, seizing cell phones and arresting accomplices. Meanwhile, in other Cordoban prisons, raids for phone scams were also reported.

Expansion and sophistication of frauds inside the walls

Since the early 2000s, inmates managed to illegally bring in cell phones and organize gangs.The frauds evolved from virtual kidnappings to complex scams and the management of drug trafficking operations both inside and outside the cell blocks. At the same time, acts of revenge and retaliation emerged, connecting the prisons with neighborhoods in the capital and cities in the interior.

In 2015, the use of cell phones multiplied and diversified in Bouwer, Cruz del Eje, Villa María, and San Francisco. Inmates began to professionalize their scams and coordinate actions with external accomplices, creating an organized system of continuous crimes. The entry of devices was linked to alleged corruption within the SPC, according to judicial investigations.

Prosecutor Enrique Gavier, from the Complex Crimes unit of Córdoba, indicated that phones were brought in and resold at high prices along with drugs and other goods, with the collusion of penitentiary chiefs. Recently, the courts handed down five life sentences for narco-criminal offenses plotted from inside the prisons. This first stage of the investigation into SPC corruption has already been sent to trial.

Insufficient control and technological repercussions

During the 2020 pandemic, the "tumbero call centers" expanded using 4G cell phones for vaccination scams, subsidies, loans, and fake raffles. Inmates managed to carry out complex schemes that included collecting money from victims and manipulating banking operations from their cells. At the same time, they maintained control over drugs and illicit businesses both inside and outside the prisons.

The Province installed signal jammers to curb the overflow, but residents of Bouwer and Cruz del Eje complained about interference. The measure became a technical and social problem, while inmates continued their criminal networks by adapting to the limitations.

In 2023, Gavier launched investigations into alleged collusion between inmates and SPC guards and arrested former chief Bouvier and several former subordinates. According to the prosecution, for years, a "co-government" of crime operated inside the prisons, with price lists for cell phones, drugs, transfer permits, and illegal benefits. The first part of the case is still ongoing in court, and the accused deny the charges.

Corruption and internal management of the SPC

Prosecutor Enrique Gavier ordered that Sergio Guzmán, former penitentiary chief, be tried for illicit association along with three lawyers and two accused civilians. The investigation focuses on the illegal entry of cell phones, bribes, and favors to inmates to obtain undue benefits. The prosecution asserts that this alleged mafia allowed a co-government in the prisons, consolidating decades of control and illegal enrichment of inmates and accomplices.

For years, cell phones entered the cell blocks without control and caused millions in revenue for inmates and external accomplices. In addition, the criminal network included drugs, transfer permits, fictitious courses, and retaliation against other inmates. All of this operated with the alleged complicity of penitentiary chiefs who failed to fulfill their legal duties.

Gavier emphasized that the first stage of the trial seeks to demonstrate how inmates managed to consolidate illicit businesses with the collaboration of penitentiary employees. Irregular contracts and payments that facilitated the entry of devices and prohibited products are also under investigation. The prosecution points out that these schemes caused a system of structural corruption within the SPC that affected the security of the prisons and justice in general.