WESTOVER, Md. - Eastern Correctional Institution correctional officers recovered $35,000 worth of drugs from a Riverdale woman over the weekend, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
The DPSCS said Tania Ramirez attempted to bring in 353 suboxone strips into the prison. Ramirez is accused of tossing two blue packages containing the orange colored strips over the visiting room wall.
The visiting room officer said he recovered the material and contacted the department's K-9 unit who identified the drugs, according to DPSCS.
DPSCS says while a thin film drug sells for only about $3 when prescribed by a doctor, officials say inmates can illegally sell the drug for about $1,000 a strip to other inmates.
“Illegal drugs fuel prison violence and our alert officers may have saved lives through this major interdiction,” DPSCS Secretary Robert Green said. “Our dedicated officers will continue to be vigilant against any attempt to bring contraband into our facilities.”
Ramirez was released on her own recognizance on Sunday, according to DPSCS. Ramirez was charged with possession with intent to deliver drugs into a state correctional facility.
Charges against the inmate, who is serving 20 years for second-degree murder, are pending.
The major bust is the latest by department officers. Last month, a Baltimore attorney was charged with sneaking the drug into one of his clients at the Maryland Correctional Institution- Hagerstown. That same month, a Western Correctional Institution officer in Cumberland retrieved a package of the narcotic stashed near an inmate road crew.
