Six people, including a juvenile, have been charged with smuggling drugs into the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency announced Tuesday.
The investigation, launched in January, showed an inmate enlisted others to send him Suboxone and LSD through the mail in envelopes disguised as legal documents, the MDEA said.
Investigators say 23-year-old Alexander Laurelez of Topsham enlisted the help of a 17-year-old girl and 19-year-old Kyle Brady of Topsham to hide the drugs between pieces of paper inside an envelope marked “Legal Correspondence” and to address the envelope to fellow inmate George Markos.
The envelopes had a return address of a Maine law firm to make it appear it contained legal papers in an attempt to avoid jail authorities from opening the letters, investigators said. The law firm had no knowledge or involvement in the scheme, police said.
Police also accuse inmate Devin Leonard of Wiscasset of coordinating with Laurelez to have Suboxone smuggled into the jail. Investigators say Leonard directed his girlfriend, Briana Ayers, to mail Suboxone to the 17-year-old girl, who then mailed the letters to the jail.
On Feb. 27, jail investigators intercepted an envelope addressed to Markos that contained 17 Suboxone strips and three tabs of LSD.
Laurelez, who had been released from jail, was re-arrested April 20 in Topsham and taken back to Two Bridges. He is charged with Class B aggravated furnishing of Schedule W drugs (Suboxone and LSD) and trafficking in prison contraband, a Class C crime. His bail was set at $10,000 cash.
The 17-year-old girl, who lives in Topsham, is charged with unlawful furnishing for Schedule W drugs (Suboxone and LSD) and trafficking in prison contraband. She was released to the custody of her parents.
Brady and Leonard are each charged with Class B aggravated furnishing of Schedule W drugs (Suboxone and LSD) and trafficking in prison contraband, a Class C crime. Brady was charged at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, where he is being held on a probation hold.
Leonard, 26, was charged at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, where he is being held on unrelated charges. His bail was set at $10,000 cash.
Markos, 29, of Bath, is charged with unlawful furnishing of Schedule W drugs (Suboxone and LSD) and trafficking in prison contraband. He was charged at the Two Bridges jail, where he is still in custody on a probation hold. No bail was set.
Ayers, 23 of Lewiston, is being charged with unlawful furnishing of Schedule W drugs (Suboxone and LSD) and trafficking in prison contraband. She had been in contact with agents about the charges, but initially failed to turn herself in, investigators said. She was arrested Tuesday afternoon in Lewiston and taken to Androscoggin County Jail.
The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office and Topsham Police Department assisted the MDEA and Mid-Coast District Task Force with the investigation.
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