Mexico: Inmate attempts to smuggle cell phone into prison in mother’s coffin

Mexican authorities thwarted an attempt to smuggle a prohibited cell phone into jail in the coffin of an inmate’s mother, reports said Friday.

Officers at the Saint Martha prison in Mexico City found the cell phone on Tuesday during a search of the casket before it was taken to the area where inmates are allowed to bid farewell to deceased parents or children.

Inmates are not allowed to have cell phones because they are often used to organize illegal activities on the outside or make extortion calls.

But despite the ban, many prisoners have them.