From STAFF REPORTS
ABBEVILLE — Wilcox County authorities recently seized over one half pound of marijuana, bottles of liquor and two cell phones intended for inmates at Wilcox State Prison.
A joint investigation between the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Department of Corrections resulted in the seizure of the contraband last week.
A month-long investigation was launched after investigators with the sheriff’s office received an anonymous tip that illegal drugs and other items were being dropped off at an undisclosed location for members of the prison work crew to pick up.
Sheriff’s investigators notified state prison warden Donald Barrow and the joint investigation was initiated.
Contraband was discovered at the reported drop site so surveillance equipment was set up. Investigators maintained a constant watch until the contraband was picked up by an inmate on a work detail.
Barrow was notified, and he activated the state prison’s special response team which intercepted the bus with the work detail aboard as they returned to the prison.
The marijuana, alcohol and cell phones were located inside the bus, and sheriff’s investigators were asked to process the evidence.Charges are pending the completion of that investigation.
“We have a zero tolerance policy for these illegal items in our penal institutions,” Barrow said. “We work hard to keep these items out of the hands of inmates and anytime that we can intercept them, it’s a victory for us.”
Continuing, the warden thanked the sheriff’s office. “We could not have done this alone. The cooperation from the sheriff’s office was a tremendous factor in us being able to successfully conduct this investigation.”
Sheriff Stacy Bloodsworth added, “I’m proud of our investigators. They did a tremendous job working this case. As I’ve said before, the key to successful law enforcement work is cooperation.
“I’d like to extend a great amount of thanks to Warden Barrow and his staff at the prison. They also did a tremendous job.”
