Ecuador: Over 700 bullets found in prison that erupted in deadly clashes

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Clashes broke out between prisoners belonging to rival drug-trafficking gangs in Guayaquil and Latacunga (south) from October 3 to 5, resulting in a total of 29 deaths and 66 injuries, including five police officers.

More than seven hundred bullets have been found and seized inside an Ecuadorian prison where clashes between inmates killed 13 of them last week, the Latin American country’s penitentiary agency (SNAI) said on Sunday.

A “package containing ammunition of various calibers” was found thanks to the “surveillance and control” of Guayas 1 prison, SNAI explained to the press.

More specifically, 744 bullets were found in a bathroom of the large prison in Guayaquil (southwest), a city where gang activity has been focused in recent years.

A police officer “is facing an investigation,” SNAI added.

Last week’s clashes involved inmates in three of the twelve wards at Waya 1, where some 6,900 people are held.

After regaining control of the prison, police found a rifle, three handguns, 1,315 bullets, knives, drugs and liquid inside cells.

Clashes broke out between prisoners belonging to rival drug-trafficking gangs in Guayaquil and Latacunga (south) from October 3 to 5, resulting in a total of 29 deaths and 66 injuries, including five police officers.

At the latter prison, most of the victims were found dismembered, officials said.

Since February 2021, some 400 inmates have been killed in rival gang clashes in Ecuadorian prisons.

RES-EMP

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