Authorities used x-rays to catch the smugglers. One image shows a cell phone and two bags of marijuana. Another x-ray revealed a lighter … nd a third detected yet another cell phone hidden inside an inmate's body cavity.
Deputies increased their efforts to stop this kind of smuggling after an incident in December. That's when an inmate complained of stomach pains and was later found with a five inch knife hidden in his body cavity.
Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin said, "This is a testament to what, how far they will go to insure that they get whatever they want behind bars."
Sheriff Mark Pazin plans to ask county supervisors for 20-thousand dollars to purchase two machines that can detect metal and other items hidden inside bodies.
The inmates caught with the contraband could face extended sentences.
