Wrong Address? Ohio Inmate Receives Letter With Drugs Slid Inside Questionable Photo

An unidentified person tried to send drugs to an inmate at the Ashtabula County jail in Ohio, a police report revealed. The suboxone strips were slid inside two photographs glued together.

According to local newspaper the Star Beacon, the police report noted that the photos glued together to hold the strips of drug suboxone were considered “provocative in violation of established jail rules.” The mail was sent from a Lake Avenue address.

Authorities revealed that the address in Ashtabula was fictitious. Furthermore, the sender’s name showed no record whatsoever in the said county.

When the inmate was notified about the letter sent to his name, he requested to see the mail to find out who sent the mail. The corrections officer then reportedly inspected the letter again and noticed that the photo was thicker than usual photographs.

After re-inspection, the suboxone strips were discovered. The said drug has high risk for dependence and is used in some pain conditions as well as a treatment for opiates addiction.

The state of Ohio has seen similar mail incidents in the past and drug-related events have also taken place in some county prisons over the past few months.

Late last month, four inmates at the Warren County Jail were taken to the hospital for potential drug overdoses, FOX affiliate WXIX-TV reported. At that time, Warren county sheriff Larry Sims admitted that there was a recent “spike” in overdoses.

Sims also revealed that one of the inmates, a man from Franklin, Ohio, died. Furthermore, he explained that there was “potential evidence” found at the cell of the deceased inmate indicating drug residue.

Instead of visitors, some inmates bring the drugs in themselves, Sims pointed out. He added that some also come through by U.S. mail, with some of the recent discoveries being sheets of paper dipped into liquid forms of meth and other illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers earlier this month proposed legislation that should change the methods used by state jails in handling inmates who may be at risk of drug or alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

According to NBC affiliate WCMH-TV, the bill, if passed into law, will require Ohio jails to establish protocols in admitting inmates who may see their health threatened by withdrawal from alcohol, drugs, and some prescriptions.

The proposed bill was named after son Sean Levert, son of R&B singer Eddie Levert of the band O’Jays. Levert passed away inside the Cuyahoga jail in 2008 after he was denied of Xanax. A coroner’s report later revealed that Xanax withdrawal was a contributing factor in his death.