Webb County Sheriff's Department Stops Drugs From Being Smuggled In
By
KGNS News
Story Created:
Mar 15, 2013 at 5:44 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Mar 15, 2013
The only way to prevent incidents like this from happening, Assistant Chief with the Webb County Sheriff's Office, Pete Arredondo, says is to be proactive.
"We've implemented a lot of plans at the jail to keep these individuals from bringing in narcotics."
One of the ways they stop drugs from getting in is the drug portal.
"It's very similar to a narcotic k-9 unit. It senses the type of narcotics that come in."
It's an everyday battle when it comes to the concern of inmates smuggling drugs into the jail.
"Those individuals are called mules. They're actually sometimes arrested for the purpose of bringing narcotics in."
Synthetic marijuana was one of the drugs that was attempted to be smuggled in, which Arredondo says is very potent because it is a hallucinogenic.
"It's a very strong narcotic and it's very addicting. it can cause a lot of damage to the ones using it or the ones around it."
In a jail setting, he says it's a major issue. In addition to using technology to find the drugs on inmates, jailers also pay attention to inmates behavior.
"You look for certain things that stand out so if you see glassy eyes or smell alcohol, corrections officers also use those to point out."
A charge of prohibited substance in a correctional facility is a felony three.
