A prisoner at Corradino Correctional Facility was caught in possession of a mobile phone after he took a selfie in his cell and posted it on Facebook, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Minutes earlier, sources said, the same inmate created a fake Facebook account attributed to another prisoner and sent friend requests to warders.

The incident took place on Wednesday.

The police were called in to investigate and criminal action is expected to be taken against the inmate, serving time in connection with drug-related crimes.

The sources said eyebrows were first raised when a warder received a Facebook friend request from a prisoner’s account.

A short while later, two of his colleagues received a similar request. A closer look made them suspect it was a fake profile.

About 30 minutes later, they were alerted to a photograph posted by a prisoner in another division. They raided his cell and the inmate reportedly immediately admitted to having created the fake profile. However, he denied being in possession of a mobile phone, adding he was “always one step ahead” of them.

A mobile phone was, however, found when, in a thorough search, warders removed the top of a piece of furniture and found the handset beneath it. It transpired that the prisoner would remove the top to access the phone and then nail the top back on later, the sources added.

Figures released in Parliament this week showed that almost 150 mobile phones have been seized since 2013 by officials at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

According to Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia, who was replying to a question tabled by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopordi, an average of 26 mobile phones were discovered each year since 2013.

Among other items found in prison were mobile phone chargers, pen drives, batteries and internet keys. Twenty-eight mobile phones were discovered in prisoners’ cells last year and 18 in the first two months of this year.

A ministry spokeswoman said the prohibited items were found following intensive searches that were conducted on a regular basis.

“After the searches, the necessary disciplinary action is always taken,” she said, adding that the ministry and the prison authorities “will continue to invest further and upgrade the technology used to strengthen security procedures”.