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🇩🇪 Germany /Crime & Justice

Thousands of Mobile Phones Found in North Rhine-Westphalia Prisons, Justice Minister Reports

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement Under investigation
  • A report to North Rhine-Westphalia’s state parliament says prisons found 6,839 mobile phones between 2022 and Sept. 7, 2026.
  • Open prisons accounted for many discoveries, including 1,141 phones at Bielefeld-Senne, compared with 63 at the city’s closed prison.
  • Mobile phones and drugs also feature in current investigations into suspected corruption at several prisons.

North Rhine-Westphalia prisons have found 6,839 mobile phones since 2022, according to a report from Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach to the state parliament’s legal affairs committee. Authorities discovered 1,011 of those phones this year alone.

The figures show particularly high numbers in open prisons. Bielefeld-Senne recorded 1,141 mobile phones since 2022, while the closed prison in Bielefeld recorded 63 during the same period. Bochum prison recorded 389.

Mobile phones and drugs also play a role in current investigations into suspected corruption cases at several prisons, the report notes.

About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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