JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. -- An Indiana sheriff is speaking out about a problem he says is growing out of hand: Smuggling contraband into jails.
Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said it's happening more often than you think, and those doing it could end up paying a higher price than jail time.
Amanda Weliever, 37, was arrested Tuesday night. She's accused of using her body cavity to try and smuggle prescription pills into the jail.
The sheriff says Weliever was turning herself in on a warrant related to a probation violation. During the strip search he says they found nine prescription pills in a condom, tucked away in a body cavity.
"Unfortunately for this lady this morning, she came in for a warrant for conversion which is a misdemeanor." said Cox. "She's now facing felony charges for what she brought into the jail. Number one that's the one moral to this story, number two is you could die. You could become very sick from trying to bring those items in the area she tried to bring them."
While Cox could not provide exact numbers, he said contraband smuggling has been on the rise this year, and he believes that the heroin epidemic across parts of Indiana is fueling an increase in the addiction.
Cox won't disclose their search policies and procedures, but said they have been looking into purchasing a body scanner. It would cost taxpayers $200,000, but the sheriff says it would likely be cheaper than a death lawsuit, "When I have a death in a jail that's attributed to a balloon bursting or something or somebody dying, that's going to be a lawsuit that follows that jail death."
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has two body scanners and they say they've helped to cut down on the contraband coming into their jail.
The Indiana Department of Corrections says they make 15-20 arrests per month at their 20 male facilities.
