A grand jury indicted a former Hays State Prison corrections officer this week amid allegations that he sneaked drugs, alcohol, cellphones and glass pipe into the North Georgia prison.
According to release from U.S. Attorney B.J. Pak, Mark Edward Jeffery tried to smuggled contraband into the Trion, Georgia, prison in February. Another corrections officer found a mysterious rectangle shape inside Jeffrey's beverage container. The shape was wrapped in black electrical tape.
When the other officers alerted a supervisor, according to the release, the supervisor searched Jeffrey's belongs. They allegedly found a glass pipe, four smartphones, four phone charges, about 190 ecstasy pills and a plastic bag with methamphetamine.
The supervisor also allegedly found a water bottle with some sort of alcohol inside.
A grand jury indicted Jeffrey, 33, on Tuesday. He was arraigned before a judge in the Northern District of Georgia today.
"Correctional officers who smuggle contraband into prisons not only betray the institutions they protect, but also jeopardize the safety of fellow correctional officers and inmates," Pak said in the news release.
Said Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Gregory Dozier: "We are committed to ridding our prisons of individuals who bring discredit to the badge, and we are proud of those officers who work with integrity and vigilance in stopping the introduction of contraband into our facilities."