Correctional Officers intercept contraband intended for prisons

 

TOWSON, MD – Correctional officers staffing an entrance to the Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI) intercepted a delivery truck this week with boxes attached to the vehicle containing contraband cell phones and drug paraphernalia. The contraband was discovered during normal search procedures of vehicles entering Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services correctional facilities.

As a result of the initial vehicle search and seizure, inspections were performed on additional vehicles operated by the delivery company which services 10 central Maryland prisons. The inspections revealed three more trucks to be carrying phones and drug paraphernalia believed to be intended for the institutions.

The initial discovery of the contraband occurred when a correctional officer doing a routine inspection of a vehicle noticed what appeared to be two black boxes affixed to the bottom of the truck cabin. The boxes were identified as electrical junction boxes with several magnets affixed to the bottom side.

The boxes were removed to reveal five cellular phones and five charger cords with the electrical plugs removed in each box. The employees operating the truck were notified that they would not be allowed into any state correctional facility pending the conclusion of a complete investigation by the department’s Internal Investigative Division (IID).

The delivery company then conducted its own inspection of its vehicles and found two similar boxes each on two of its trucks that contained black flip phones and drug paraphernalia. A single box was discovered on a third truck which contained a white powder substance.

Commenting on the search and seizure by correctional staff, Public Safety Secretary Stephen T. Moyer said, “Thanks to the vigilance of our correctional officers, we were successful in stopping contraband from entering secured correctional facilities. We will continue to be vigilant in our efforts to stop drugs and other contraband from entering our facilities to make them safe for our employees, inmates, and visitors,” Moyer remarked.