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| Prison drug plot revealed |
| By The Chambersburg Public Opinion |
| Published: 07/10/2006 |
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FRANKLIN COUNTY, PA - A tip on Franklin County Drug Task Force's hotline triggered an investigation last week that uncovered a plot to smuggle drugs into Franklin County Prison and could lead to charges against a prison officer and others. The task force, local Pennsylvania State Police troopers and the state police vice squad conducted a reverse sting operation Friday afternoon that trapped a prison employee trying to buy OxyContin pills for inmates at the facility. Police did not release the name of the employee Friday or list charges that will be filed in the case, saying instead that the investigation was ongoing. A task force investigator said it might be several weeks before the case is wrapped up and charges filed. He said more than one person was involved in the smuggling plot to provide illegal drugs to inmates at the prison. Warden John Wetzel said prison authorities had been working with investigators in the case. "We take this kind of thing pretty seriously and act quickly on it," he said. "We have a professional staff and something like this makes everybody look bad, but fortunately a case like this is rare." While this case was initiated outside the prison as a result of the tip to the task force, Wetzel said similar investigations sometimes begin internally. When that happens, prison officials act quickly to notify outside law enforcement agencies if illegal activity is suspected within the prison system. "We take our jobs seriously, and we don't tolerate that," he said. One investigator involved in Friday's reverse sting operation said the entire situation developed pretty rapidly. Once the tip that an officer was planning to smuggle OxyContin into the prison came into the hotline at 1 p.m., investigators from the Franklin County District Attorney's office and state police's vice squad went into action to verify the information and put together the operation. When the officer showed up at a prearranged location about an 11/2 hours later to get what was supposed to be prescription pain pills, investigators made the arrest. Police would only identify the officer as "he/she," but did say the officer's identity would be released when the investigation was complete and charges were filed. Police said prison officials cooperated fully with the investigation and investigators had no reason to believe the officer had successfully smuggled drugs into the prison at any time in the past. |
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