Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 11, 2026 – A sixth extraordinary security search at the Costa Norte regional prison recovered suspected marijuana, tools, cables and electronic equipment, extending a post-escape inspection campaign that has repeatedly found prohibited items inside the facility.
State prison police, National Guard personnel and Defense Ministry troops searched common areas, terraces, the gym, technical zones, corridors, workshops, the dining room, the kitchen and housing modules Friday morning. The prison sits along the Las Palmas road in Santo Domingo, near Ixtapa, and is listed in the Jalisco government directory at kilometer 6.5.
The seized property included a packet of plant material believed to be marijuana, 12 speakers, four antennas, two DVD players, 40 discs and about 18 meters of cable. Officers also removed a shovel, two meters of hose, two hacksaw blades, six lighters, a hammer and four screwdrivers.
The Jalisco Security Secretariat described the operation as a random inspection. The material was placed under the control of prison authorities, and the operation ended without incident.
The agency did not disclose the weight of the suspected marijuana, whether laboratory testing was ordered, where each item was found, or whether any prisoner or employee faces disciplinary or criminal action. The initial account of the seizure also did not explain how the prohibited property entered the prison.
The July search was not an isolated discovery. It was the sixth extraordinary inspection since the February 22 prison break, when 23 inmates escaped during a wider burst of violence, and a guard was killed.
A fifth security inspection took place June 17. A separate May operation paired another search with the transfer of seven inmates described as potential violence generators to the Puente Grande prison complex. That inspection recovered metal points, a screwdriver, cable, a charger, a metal grill and other banned property.
State officials have not released a cumulative inventory covering the six extraordinary inspections or identified administrative findings tied to the repeated seizures. They also have not said whether staffing, surveillance or access procedures have changed since February.
Vallarta Daily has continued to track the search related to the escape. One fugitive was arrested in Zacatecas in late June after an armed confrontation with state and federal forces. The latest inspection notice did not include a current tally of escapees still being sought or a timetable covering the next prison search.
