By C1 Staff
There’s contraband, and then there’s contraband. Here’s a small list of some of the strangest things that have crossed our desks here at CorrectionsOne; if you have something to add, sound off in the comments.
Two inmates in Georgia who were escorted to their grandmother’s funeral had family members use the casket as a drop point for drugs and other contraband. Upon getting back to the facility, prison staff found tobacco, a lighter, and a cellphone on one of the inmates. Hopefully grandma isn’t rolling in her grave.
This one sounds made up, but we swear it’s true. A Kentucky inmate coming back from furlough snuck a pair of underwear soaked with methadone into the facility (we assume he was wearing them) and then shared his good fortune with his cell mates. One of those inmates died from overdose, and the smuggler is facing new charges.
Back in Georgia, a new type of drug is masquerading as lip balm, making it basically hideable in plain sight. The drug, known as ‘honeycomb,’ is made from the oils of marijuana plants and has a very high concentration of HTC.
Here’s some for the sports fans – in two facilities in Michigan, contraband smugglers have been trying to score a touchdown throwing footballs filled with illegal goodies into facilities. Unfortunately for them, each time the throws were intercepted by prison staff. In Georgia, the smugglers seem to prefer baseball.
Don’t forget about food. A Filipino inmate was recently caught with drugs inside a ‘torta’ pastries – in fact, the pastries were packed full of methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as ‘shabu.’ The inmate claimed he had no idea what was inside the baked treat. And in Lebanon, corrections officers have been confiscating hash-filled halawa from their facilities.
Sometimes smugglers make it easy for them to get caught; this Idaho woman made the mistake of mailing 37 cans of chewing tobacco and some “spice” to her incarcerated beau and she joined him behind bars. She told authorities that her boyfriend had told her to mail them to his cellmate’s mother – quite the address mix-up.
Man’s best friend has done what he can to help deter cell phone contraband in California; during his four-and-a-half year career with the CDCR, K-9 Drako has turned up 1,000 of them! He’s also credited with the discovery of 21 pounds of marijuana, 1.25 pounds of methamphetamine, 5.5 ounces of heroin and 2.5 ounces of honey oil. Guess it helps to have a powerful sniffer!
Sometimes inmates like to repeat the greatest hits, like this British inmate who carved a gun out of soap much like the infamous John Dillinger. He planned to use it in an escape attempt, but later got cold feet and turned the contraband into prison staff.
And the future of contraband smuggling looks like it’ll fly in from the skies: a drone in Ireland crash-landed in the yard, where an inmate got to it before prison staff. He swallowed the drugs, and was then placed in isolation until the contraband could be recovered. The drone was taken out by wires meant to discourage helicopters from hovering over the prison grounds.
What are some of the weirdest contraband finds or stories you’ve ever heard?