Inmates Found Smuggling Opiods Into Butte County Jail

OROVILLE (CBS13) — Thursday morning, guards at Butte County Jail found three inmates who overdosed on opioids.

After administering Narcan to the inmates and making sure they were all safe, guards turned their attention to the source of the drugs.

The guards searched the unit and found around 15 grams of fentanyl that an inmate had concealed in his anal cavity.

Due to laws and regulations, guards are not permitted to search body cavity's which allowed this inmate to smuggle the fentanyl in.

With the increased prevalence of fentanyl within the community, there have been many other similar events like this.

One method that the sheriff's office is exploring is buying a body scanner, which will allow guards to search inmates for contraband without needing to perform cavity searches.

"Keeping contraband out of correctional facilities has always been challenging. As long as there have been jails and prisons, inmates have sought out ways to smuggle drugs into the facilities. Our correctional deputies do their very best, within the bounds of the law, to prevent that from happening. However, given the increased prevalence of fentanyl within the community, the challenges have taken on a greater level of complexity. This recent trend underscores how addiction drives people to do things that may result in their death. This is a significant problem throughout the country as evidenced by the increased number of overdose deaths, driven in large part by highly potent synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl," said Sheriff Kory Honea.