Chile fines Chinese mafia inmate after cocaine found at maximum-security prison

Prosecutors link the inmate to a Chinese criminal network targeted in a major police operation last year and a second raid in June

A Chilean court on Monday fined a Chinese man caught with cocaine inside a Santiago prison, where he is being held on charges of homicide, kidnapping and drug trafficking. It was the second such ruling in five involving a Chinese inmate in five months, with prosecutors linking the two men to the same criminal network.

Officers had searched Haifeng Tang at Santiago Uno prison on August 12, a day before his move to La Laguna, the maximum-security jail at the centre of President Jose Antonio Kast’s tough prison policy. They found two sealed bags holding about a gram of powder, and a field test confirmed it was cocaine.

The Seventh Guarantee Court of Santiago, which rules on pre-trial matters, set the fine at 71,649 pesos (US$75). Alternatively, the defendant can serve up to six months if he does not pay.

Tang also faces charges of weapons possession and criminal association, and prosecutors have identified the victim in the homicide count as another Chinese citizen.

The discovery and subsequent penalty were a setback for Kast’s flagship security operation, since Tang had been cleared for transfer despite carrying cocaine.