In an unprecedented sweep of correctional facilities across the country, French authorities have uncovered a vast and dangerous trade in ultra-compact mobile phones being smuggled into prisons. These devices, nicknamed “thumb phones” or “suppositories” in prison slang due to their diminutive size and concealability, have become central tools for coordinating serious criminal activity from behind bars-including drug trafficking, money laundering, and contract killings.

The revelation came as part of “Operation Prison Break,” a nationwide crackdown conducted on May 20, during which French authorities searched nearly 500 cells in 66 prisons. Thousands of the tiny phones were seized, providing disturbing insight into how organized crime networks have weaponized technology to extend their influence from prison cells to the streets-and beyond.

At the heart of the scandal are thumb-sized phones, often no larger than a cigarette lighter and composed largely of plastic, which allows them to slip past metal detectors and routine security scans. With limited functionality and discreet designs, these devices are inexpensive, often mass-produced in China, and remarkably difficult to detect.

Authorities estimate that roughly 5,000 of these miniature phones have infiltrated French correctional institutions, with many being smuggled in by visitors-some reportedly hiding the phones inside body cavities to bypass detection. According to French media, the devices are........

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