What is "transfer"?
This is a food, clothing or combined kit collected for transfer or forwarding to a pre-trial detention center, prison or colony to a person under investigation or convict.
Such a parcel received the name “transfer” according to the criminal tradition of awarding diminutive names for things, events, etc., associated with the criminal world or characteristic only of it.
The collection of donations is most often carried out by a relative who wants to support a loved one who is deprived of liberty. But it is not prohibited to send parcels from people who are not related to the recipient.
Let's now look at what is possible when transferring to prison, and what is absolutely not allowed. Watch the video about being sent to prison:
Introduction
The service https://fsin-pokupka.ru from the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Kaluzhskoe" is intended for the delivery of products and/or industrial goods to persons in special institutions of the penal system of the Russian Federation (pre-trial detention center or penal colony) and operates as an online store. Currently, the service covers 26 regions of Russia and, according to consumer reviews, is the best. If you made an order through this service, the goods will be guaranteed to be delivered to the recipient as soon as possible, or your money will be returned in case of any problems with delivery.
Acceptable premises
Everything necessary to maintain health and basic hygiene, facilitating the establishment of the minimum comfort possible in prison conditions.
What can be sent in a parcel to prison? It is advisable to put in the transfer:
- personal items (toothpaste, a new brush and only a wooden comb, disposable machines, napkins, toilet paper, sanitary pads (for women), toilet soap, plastic or aluminum mugs, plates);
- warm clothes, a tracksuit, a change of clothes (in a pre-trial detention center) - unless prohibited, cotton socks and warm ones;
- literature for reading, classes, notebooks, pen (if allowed);
- tobacco products (sent even to non-smokers - cigarettes are the internal currency accepted for services by both inmates and guards);
- products.
IMPORTANT : The time of sending the parcel to prisons is determined by the management of the institution where the prisoner is located.
Watch the video to see how to collect a parcel for prison:
What products can be sent to prison?
With a long shelf life, do not require heat treatment or low temperature for storage, and have factory-made transparent packaging that cannot be used to create edged weapons.
What food items can be sent to prison? Products to be given to prisoners:
- packaged, instant (noodles, mashed potatoes, rice, buckwheat, oatmeal);
- for flavoring food (chicken broth cubes, sunflower oil - preferably homemade or olive oil, onions, garlic - improve the taste of prison food, provide vitamins, strengthen the immune system);
- tea (black, with small or medium leaves, good, but at a reasonable price), milk powder, citric acid for refreshing summer drinks, instant jelly;
- coffee (it’s easier to make a drink from instant, but natural is healthier - choose based on the recipient’s everyday capabilities);
- dry-cured sausage, but salted lard is better - it lasts longer, is more satisfying, healthier, and more affordable. Smoked lard and salted fish are allowed only in the cold season, but not in all institutions;
- from sweets, honey, condensed milk in soft packaging, caramel (all this can be added to food or consumed as dessert);
- butter (in small portions and only for transfer to pre-trial detention centers - a quickly perishable product). It is more rational to transfer ghee, rendered chicken fat;
- dried fruits that do not require special storage conditions are preferable to freshly picked fruits;
- You can transfer canned food, but in isolated cases - the containers will be opened during inspection and the contents will only go to the recipient if he has something to take away the unpacked product;
- bread (small quantity).
Here is the entire list of what products can be sent to prison.
IMPORTANT : Before packing the transfer, remove the products from the cardboard packaging, leaving the transparent plastic one. Place products without transparent original packaging in packaging bags and tie them, but not with a very intricate knot.
In order not to reveal instant noodles , it is better to buy it in the pussy at the pre-trial detention center - then the spices will reach the recipient.
Transfer viscous products in thick plastic containers, which will then be used as dishes.
The recipient will share the products received with some of his cellmates - if possible, take this fact into account when determining the volume of product to transfer.
Cigarettes, tea, and sweets replace money for prisoners and are never superfluous . When choosing a specific product, give preference to what is affordable - there is no need to chase the brand.
Instructions for sending and purchasing packages to Federal Penitentiary Service institutions
The service for ordering goods through an online store appeared in Russian pre-trial detention centers and colonies in 2010. Its appearance is associated with the name of entrepreneur Nikolai Motorny. It was he who created the SizoMag online store, where both the prisoners themselves, using a special terminal, and their relatives and friends could order goods. The business did not last even five years.
Already at the beginning of 2015, the Federal Penitentiary Service severed relations with the businessman, and the same functions are now performed by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Kaluzhskoye” of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation. At the moment, the market is virtually monopolized by government officials; its volume is estimated at more than 100 billion rubles.
The very first page of the official online store of FSUE Kaluzhskoye greets us with the following announcement:
“The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Moscow Region warns that the only real address of the online store that delivers parcels to the place of imprisonment is www.fsin-pokupka.ru.
We inform you that the website fsinpokupka.ru (without writing a hyphen), fsin-mag.ru and Sk-Group Holding Technology LLC, as well as fsin-pokypka.ru and IP Stepanov M.E. THEY ARE NOT PARTNERS OF FSUE "Kaluzhskoye" of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia. Consequently, the Company is not responsible for the operation of the above Internet resources.”
To avoid unpleasant situations and not fall into the hands of unscrupulous entrepreneurs and scammers, read the website interface and instructions for filling out the order form on the official page of the department www.fsin-pokupka.ru
Instructions for sending and purchasing packages to Federal Penitentiary Service institutions
1. Enter the website address www.fsin-pokupka.ru into the search bar
2. If you use smartphones, then you need to install an application available on both GooglePlay and the AppStore
3. Select the penal institution and region
4. Enter the product catalog
5. Check the box that you accept the terms and agree with them. Read the terms of the contract carefully.
6. In the product catalog, select food and non-food products, in the tobacco products section, confirm all agreements and conditions and click “checkout”
7. You can register with or without registration on the website
8. We fill in all the fields, select a payment system, check the box indicating consent to the processing of personal data and complete the “place an order” action, confirm registration and pay for the goods by filling out your payment card information.
It should be noted that this business is very profitable, and where there is a lot of money in Russia, there is often fraud.
The Internet is flooded with statements both from the prisoners themselves and from relatives and friends.
“We sent a parcel for 4,000 rubles from the online store of the Kaluga Federal Penitentiary Service, ordered sausages, sweets and cigarettes, but only water, juice and seeds arrived. Don’t use the online store, I don’t know if it’s the negligence of the employees or the scam of the customers, but in any case, my son was left without everything.”
“On the website they advertise themselves as a company without restrictions and great opportunities. But in fact this is not the case. Parcels are expensive and there are shipping restrictions! If something is wrong, then you can’t wait for a refund! They will feed you with promises. I returned my parcel the next day, because, supposedly, there was a restriction on the sender and three months have passed, and I’m still waiting for a refund; at the time of writing, they again promised to return it before 01/22/2021. But I really doubt it. When contacting, via phone or email, they only promise. You ask to contact the elder, they say they can’t help. I don’t recommend it or you’ll be ready to lose money.”
“We will deliver your parcel within 24 hours.” “There are no restrictions on weight or quantity.” “The parcel is not included in the monthly transfer limit.” Everything is filled with such advertising and these are not isolated cases. There are hundreds of such reviews on the Internet.
There are two schemes for the work of so-called “entrepreneurs”
The first is when registered Limited Liability Companies and Individual Entrepreneurs act as intermediaries. They resell goods from the official FSIN store at inflated prices. In some cases, the markup reaches up to 300%. A predatory scheme that allows you to profit from people in trouble.
The second is openly criminal in nature. If in the first case the parcels still reach the prisoners, albeit with multiple overpayments, then in the second they are not sent at all. The unfortunate relatives of prisoners literally pay for “air,” supposedly sent packages that never reach the recipient. There is no place to complain. On fake sites there are either no feedback contacts at all, or there is an eternally silent phone or email.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that real and fake sites are confusingly similar. One design, one interface and always a hint of supposed reliability with references to the official FSIN system. The markups on websites engaged in the resale of goods are approximately as follows: onions on the official website cost 46.60 rubles, and on the fake website – 72 rubles. Lemons on the official website cost 230 rubles, on the fake website – 531 rubles.
It is worth noting that the boom in popularity of fake online stores occurred during the period of acute spread of coronavirus infection. In pre-trial detention centers and colonies, communication with the outside world was limited, and people looked for any opportunity to send parcels to their loved ones.
There is information that the so-called “businessmen” who are engaged in making money from prisoners may be prosecuted.
In September 2022, the prosecutor's office of the ZelAO received a message from a mother who, in the FSIN-MAG online store, ordered and paid for goods for her son, who was in prison.
The purchase cost the woman 4,519 rubles. However, the goods paid for in the online store were never delivered to pre-trial detention center No. 12, where her son is being held. The money for the goods was not returned, and it was impossible to contact the store representatives.
“Having studied the site, the prosecutor’s office established that the FSIN-MAG online store actually delivers products and goods, as well as transfers funds to persons in prison throughout Russia. Also during the audit, numerous reviews were discovered about fraudulent activities when making purchases on the website fsin-mag.ru . According to an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the service for the formation and delivery of transfers to persons in prison - SK-GROUP Holding Technology LLC, is registered at the address: Moscow, st. Tulskaya M., 16. But the specified legal entity does not have it at this address.”
According to available information, the so-called “entrepreneurs” will face a criminal case under Art. Part 1 Art. 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The penalty is up to six years in prison. The Public Monitoring Commission (POC) for the Moscow Region addressed the prosecutor's office with this demand.
Be extremely careful when placing such orders. Take your time, double-check whether the interface is correct, whether there are phone numbers for government services, look again at the screenshots from our publication to make sure they are accurate. Don't create fertile ground for scammers. Be carefull.
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What's not allowed?
We've sorted out what transfers can be sent to prison. The list of items prohibited for transfer includes all perishable products (milk, eggs, meat, yeast), requiring long-term cooking, and substances that cause any kind of intoxication.
Sugar may also be on the list of forbidden foods - seasoned prisoners use it to distill prohibited moonshine.
REFERENCE : If it is discovered that there is an attempt to transfer weapons, narcotic or toxic substances to a prisoner, a criminal case will be opened against the sender of the parcel.
How to send a parcel to prison by mail?
Like a regular parcel or parcel, but taking into account the ban on prisoners receiving certain items.
What can you send to prison? Transfers without weight restrictions are allowed:
- sick;
- seriously ill (with medical confirmation);
- minors;
- pregnant;
- prisoners kept with their children under 3 years old).
Prisoners and those awaiting sentencing are prohibited from sending:
- devices for receiving, storing, exchanging information;
- any types of weapons, lighters, matches, watches, optical instruments;
- any products containing alcohol;
- electrical appliances (except razors and boilers);
- pornographic materials.
Authorization
To start using the service, you must log in. To do this, click on the “Cabinet” tab located on the main vertical panel of the service:
At the very bottom you need to find the “Registration” button and click on it:
Next, you need to fill in all the fields that open. At the end of the page you need to check the box indicating your consent to the processing of your personal data. It is recommended to indicate your real last name, first name and patronymic, because otherwise it will be difficult to identify you as a real user of the site. Also, when registering, indicate a valid phone number to which a code will be sent to confirm your actions.
The next window shows registration confirmation. You will need to receive and enter a verification code either by email or SMS, which will be sent to the email address or phone number you provided. If the phone number is entered incorrectly, further registration will become impossible. And you will need to either cancel it, or return to the form indicated above and enter the correct data.
Authorization is completed successfully if you can log in to the service at any time using the selected name and password.
