For Immediate Release
June 3, 2021
Attica , NY – Staff made a startling discovery inside canned vegetables mailed to an inmate at the maximum security prison, two cell phones with phone charges packed inside the cans along with over eight ounces of marijuana.
They also recovered additional electronic accessories secreted in the cans.
On Wednesday, June 2, an officer assigned to the package room, was processing packages when he noticed six cans of vegetables were significantly underweight. Upon further inspection he noticed the top of the cans had been resealed. The cans were X-rayed and several objects were inside. When the officer opened the cans he discovered nine vacuumed sealed bags that contained 8.3 ounces of marijuana.
Even more troubling for the security of the facility, was the discovery of two cell phones, two charges, two USB cords, one SIM card and two ear buds.
The electronic devices were wrapped separately from the marijuana in vacuumed sealed bags.
The contraband was seized as evidence. It was mailed to an inmate from an address in Pennsylvania.
NYSCOPBA, for years has been calling on DOCCS to reinstall the Secure Vendor Program with the proliferation of drugs coming into prisons through inmate mail. Those repeated requests have been denied by the administration with no reasonable explanation.
Contraband seized at prisons statewide has regularly exceeded 4,000 over the last five years and is on similar pace for 2021.
“If this latest contraband seizure doesn’t open the eyes of DOCCS officials of the immediate need to reinstall the Secure Vendor Program, nothing ever will. Staff, on a daily basis, do a great job of stopping drugs and other contraband from getting into the hands of inmates. The discovery of cell phones along with electronic accessories is a direct threat to the safety of the prison. In the hands of inmates, cell phones can be used for a number of criminal enterprises. They are a direct threat to the safety of everyone inside the prison.” – stated Mark Deburgomaster, Western Region Vice President.