MARCY, N.Y. — The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association said lab tests confirmed drugs were brought into Mid-State Correctional Facility last month.
Corrections officers recovered the drugs during separate searches on June 17 and 18.
The NYS Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association said that on June 17, corrections officers searched an inmate’s living cubicle and found a sheet of paper concealed inside a book located in the inmate’s locker. The paper was believed to have liquid narcotics sprayed onto it and was secured as evidence.
Then, on June 18, corrections officers conducted a routine pat frisk of another inmate. During the frisk, the inmate dropped a bundle from inside his pants onto the floor. The bundle contained two sheets of paper that officers suspected had been saturated with an illicit substance.
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The three sheets of paper were sent for testing. On July 28, the results confirmed the presence of fentanyl and synthetic marijuana, commonly known as K2.
“Every day our members are exposed to increasingly dangerous drugs that are finding their way into our correctional facilities,” said NYSCOPBA Central Region Vice President Bryan Hluska in a news release. “The confirmation that these papers contained both Fentanyl and K2 is another reminder of the serious risks correction officers face simply performing routine security duties. These seizures prevented highly dangerous narcotics from circulating throughout the facility, but they also reinforce the need for continued investment in drug detection technology, aggressive interdiction efforts, and policies that protect the men and women working inside our prisons.”
NYSCOBA said the inmates face “internal disciplinary action.”
Investigators are working to determine how the drugs got into the prison.