Born of ingredients made in China and trafficked over an open U.S. border by Mexican cartels, the deadly poison fentanyl has invaded nearly every aspect of American society. It's killing young people in record numbers and destroying families. Infants just being in the same room with it are dying. And at the Suffolk County jail, the Sheriff has his hands full keeping it away from inmates.
Speaking at a recent summit designed to pressure state lawmakers to toughen up the drug laws, Sheriff Errol Toulon detailed some of the ingenious ways the contraband is disguised.
“We found it infused in legal documents which attorneys unknowingly transported into the jail,” the Sheriff said, noting that the deadly drug was first found inside the Riverhead facility in January 2023. Attempts have been made to smuggle it in liquid form, pills, ink, and paper coming in through the mail room. In another case, a mother attempted to use her child to get the drug inside to her husband.
The department’s Security Team was alerted to high-priced books on Amazon and became suspicious that some of the items were intended to enter correctional facilities with concealed drugs or contraband, the Sheriff told the Fentanyl Summit attendees. “The Corrections Intelligence Center then contacted partner agencies, and across the board found they are encountering fentanyl contraband and fentanyl overdoses in their facilities.” The synthetic opioid is worth twenty times more inside the prison than on the street, the Sheriff said.
Upon incarceration, medical staff screen inmates to assess any addictions they may have, Toulon said of the efforts to get a leg up on the problem. “After an addiction is identified, they are referred to mental health medical staff to receive medication-assisted treatment, which includes counseling, behavioral therapy, and medication to treat their substance use disorder.” According to the Sheriff, patients are treated with Sublocade, which is similar to Suboxone but is an injection that lasts four to six weeks.
A recent plot to smuggle fentanyl into the jail led to the arrest of eight perpetrators, and five indictments were issued, Toulon said, pointing out that the Sheriff's Office coordinated with other law enforcement agencies in the investigation, including the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, state Court Officers, New York City Department of Corrections, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In this case, four sheets of paper tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, with a total value of $20,000. “The suspect was intercepted entering the court building and was found with paperwork matching the description from the intelligence obtained,” Toulon reported. “The papers were to be smuggled into court by an inmate's girlfriend via the inmate's unwitting attorney at County Court in Riverhead.”
District Attorney Raymond Tierney organized the Fentanyl Summit to focus public attention on the drug crisis and push state legislators and Gov. Kathy Hochul to toughen up the laws. On average, one person nationwide dies from fentanyl every five seconds.