In a security lapse at the high-security Modern Central Jail here, prison authorities recovered four mobile phones from inmates during a surprise search operation, officials said on Tuesday. One of the phones was seized from an associate of Canada-based gangster-terrorist Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Dalla.The joint search was carried out across various barracks of the jail following intelligence inputs about unauthorised electronic devices being used by inmates, prison officials said.During the operation, a mobile phone was recovered from Navjot Singh, identified as an associate of the Arsh Dalla gang, who is currently lodged in the jail in connection with multiple criminal cases. Three more phones were recovered from three other inmates during the same raid.Following a complaint from the jail administration, the City Faridkot police station registered an FIR against the four accused under relevant sections of the Punjab Prisons Act.Police said an investigation has been launched to ascertain how the phones and other contraband were smuggled past the jail’s multi-layered security arrangements.The call detail records and usage history of the seized devices are also being examined to check whether they were being used to run extortion rackets, coordinate criminal activities, or communicate with gang handlers based abroad.The recovery of mobile phones inside this high-security prison continues to pose a challenge for law enforcement agencies.Authorities have stepped up vigilance across state jails, with frequent surprise raids being conducted to check illicit network access allegedly used by organised crime syndicates and terror suspects lodged inside.