Osceola County investigators said three inmates found a way to smuggle a large amount of drugs into the Corrections Department.
Some jail staffers told Channel 9 they believe it happened because there aren’t enough people working at the facility.
Jail managers said they have nearly a dozen openings for corrections officers, but they said a staff shortage had nothing to do with the drug smuggling.
In one case, an inmate smuggled in 19 bags of marijuana that went undetected for more than a week.
Authorities had arrested Quentin Miller on Nov. 23, charging him with a felon in possession of a weapon and drug charges.
After correctional staff snapped his mug shot, he made it through a body scanner and was placed in a jail cell.
Eight days after his arrest, another inmate reported Miller had marijuana and ecstasy hidden in his rectum.
Reports said correctional staff found “19 small, clear bags with a green, leafy substance inside” and “six small, blue pills.”
Miller allegedly told another inmate the scanner used at the jail doesn’t detect anything and he exchanged the drugs for commissary items.
Miller isn’t the only inmate accused of smuggling drugs into the facility.
On Nov. 29, Lemuel Cruz and Carlos Daniels-Geronimo were booked into the jail. That same day, they were seen on jail footage with red fluid and a needle.
According to the report, Daniels-Geronimo smuggled the drugs.
It appears on video both managed to inject it. Daniels-Geronimo was rushed to Osceola Regional Hospital because of symptoms related to an overdose.
Hospital staff was not able to determine what the red substance was.
Osceola County jail workers said it is not a shortage of officers, but rather equipment and training issues that led to the incidents.
Jail staff said the real problem was a body scanner and inmates will now hold their hands away from their groin area to avoid any possible obfuscation of contraband.
The jail staff said they've since had additional training on the scanner for their staff, and that they may earmark some officers to specialize in using the scanner and reading results.
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