Chile fines Chinese inmate for cocaine found at maximum-security prison

A court in Chile imposed a fine on Haifeng Tang, a Chinese prisoner, after cocaine was found during a search at Santiago Uno prison. The Seventh Guarantee Court of Santiago established the penalty at 71,649 pesos (approximately US$75), with the option of a six-month prison sentence if the fine remains unpaid. Tang faces charges including homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping, weapons possession, and criminal association. The cocaine was discovered on August 12, just prior to his scheduled transfer to La Laguna, a maximum-security facility central to President Jose Antonio Kast's stringent prison policy. Prosecutors associate Tang with a Chinese criminal syndicate that was targeted in significant police operations last year and again in June. This ruling marks the second instance involving a Chinese inmate in five months, both connected to the same network, representing a setback for Kast's security initiatives, as Tang had been approved for transfer despite the cocaine possession.