Quito, Apr 13 (IANS): Six prisoners were found hanged in their cells in a prison in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil, the National Service of Integral Attention to Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI) said.
According to SNAI, security guards found the bodies of the prisoners hanged inside their cells at the Guayas 1 prison, known as Litoral Penitentiary.
"This service and the authorities of the centre are providing all the means to the respective institutions for the corresponding procedures and investigations," SNAI said on Wednesday.
According to local media, the cellblock where the inmates were found dead was reportedly under the control of a criminal gang linked to drug trafficking, Xinhua news agency reported.
Since February 2021, nearly 214 inmates have been killed in this prison in the port city of Guayaquil.