By C1 Staff
KINGMAN, Ariz. — An inmate who was transferred following the riots at an Arizona prison in Kingman was found to be stashing 31 bags of methamphetamine.
AZ Central reports that Geraldo Beltran-Torres is serving a four-year sentence for possession of a dangerous drug. He was one of the 1,100 inmates transferred after the riots.
Officers with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Detention flagged Beltran-Torres after they caught him drop something on the ground and then quickly put it under his mattress during a routine cell check.
Beltran insisted the item was “just trash,” but as the officer bent to look under the mattress, Beltran quickly stuffed something in his mouth and swallowed it, gagging. He completely swallowed the item before medical assistance arrived.
Officers found 31 small plastic bags of methamphetamine under Beltran-Torres’ mattress, all stuffed inside a larger bag. The drugs weighed 16.9 grams.
A spokesperson for the company that manages the Kingman prison, Management & Training Corp., said all inmates were searched prior to being transferred, per policy.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu warned other facilities who are taking in the transferred inmates to be on the lookout for contraband. It’s likely that Beltran-Torres had ingested the drugs or had them hidden in his body during intake.