Arizona Prison Detention Officer Arrested for Dealing in Meth and Fentanyl

Drugs on demand, straight from a prison warden, were placed by the sheriff at Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix, Arizona.

According to Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, a detention officer was arrested for attempting to bring methamphetamine and fentanyl to Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix, Arizona.

Fox 10 reports that Detention Officer Andres Salazar faces multiple drug-related charges. A currency exchange was taking place in the prison parking lot before Salazar attempted to bring a package of about 100 pills to the prison.

“This was an ongoing investigation,” Penzone said at a Jan. 11 news conference. “This prison officer was hired in October 2019, recently worked with inmates and some outsiders trying to get fentanyl and methamphetamine into the prison.”

Apparently Salazar wasn’t very good at it, an unfortunate decision that will affect his future. “We have good reason to believe this was his first attempt,” the sheriff said.

“This young man, whatever prompted him to make this decision, will not only lose his career now, but most likely the future he has for himself will definitely be hampered in a negative way,” Penzone said.

The drug problem is dire: Maricopa County jails hospitalized 172 inmates for overdoses or drug-related incidents in 2022; 17 deaths in custody were caused by an overdose or drugs were a major factor in the deaths; 194 inmates tested positive for some type of drug through a urine sample; and 114 of those inmates tested specifically positive for fentanyl.

The county says 150 postcards were intercepted by inmates in the mailroom who tested positive for being ingested with fentanyl and/or methamphetamine. “Since October 2022, 1,503 correctional officers, sergeants and lieutenants have been trained to use Narcan,” the sheriff said.

A pattern in the US criminal justice system

Something like this is not unheard of in the criminal justice system: In 2021, Marc Antrim, a former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, was convicted of organizing a fake drug bust and stealing over half a ton of cannabis and $600,000 in cash from a warehouse.

Three South Carolina prison guards were arrested in 2018 for smuggling drugs and other contraband into two different correctional facilities. In one such incident, a guard attempted to smuggle 143 grams, or about 5 ounces, of weed into a detention center.

Do you think drugs are out of reach in prisons and prison systems? Think again: According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, there are “high” rates of drug use in the criminal justice system. In particular, some research shows that an estimated 65% of prison inmates in the United States have a “drug abuse disorder” and need to get these drugs somewhere. It’s one of the best arguments that drugs have won the war on drugs.

However, Maricopa County is tackling the problem with some new changes.

Maricopa County fights drugs, corruption in prison

Penzone is now taking proactive measures to prevent such incidents from happening again under its supervision. KTAR News reports that the sheriff has announced scanning machines will soon be installed in prisons to detect drugs and other contraband entering and exiting the facilities, authorities announced Wednesday.

“I’m at a point now where I think it’s not only important, it’s appropriate that we buy scanners so that every person who enters our prison – whether they’re staff or volunteers – everyone and everyone who enters the secured population is screened to see if we can mitigate and intercept any potential contraband entering the prison,” Penzone said.

“If we need to upgrade the entire system throughout the prison system, I’m willing to do that,” Penzone said. “But we will find the one that is most effective and deploy it in all of our prisons as soon as possible.”

Drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine rank high in the danger category.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat facing this nation. “In 2021, a record number of Americans — 107,622 — died from drug poisoning or overdose,” the DEA press release said. “Sixty-six percent of these deaths are attributable to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.”