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According to BallerStatus.com

Reuters ran a report this week, saying that cellphones being smuggled into prisons are becoming an increasing problem for law enforcement.

In California, the number of contraband cellphones discovered by corrections staff jumped to more than 15,000 in 2011, more than 10 times the 1,400 seized in 2007. Those cellphones are being used to intimidate witnesses, direct drug deals and plan escapes.

This month, the topic made national headlines when U.S. officials said a member of the Bloods in North Carolina used a mobile phone hidden in his prison cell to arrange the kidnapping of the father of a woman who prosecuted him.

Phones are smuggled into prisons by corrupt guards, concealed in basketballs or food containers, or even hurled over security fences.

In an effort to crack down, states are beginning to pass laws that make it a crime, said the report. Additionally, prisons plan to employ the use of metal detectors, X-ray body scanners, pat downs and WiFi signal searches, as well as dogs trained to sniff out phones.

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