Maricopa County, Arizona – Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone says a detainee was arrested for trying to bring meth and fentanyl into Lower Buckeye Prison.

At a press conference on Jan. 11, Penzone said Andrés Salazar is a police officer charged with several felony charges related to these charges. The officer has been with the department since 2019 and reportedly worked at Lower Buckeye Prison.

Penzone said he changed money in the prison parking lot before trying to bring in the money.

Salazar reportedly tried to bring in about 100 pills in packages.

“This was an ongoing investigation. This detainee was hired in October 2019. Recently, he worked with inmates and several people outside to try to bring fentanyl and methamphetamine into prison. There is strong reason to believe this is his first attempt,” the sheriff said.

Salazar’s actions endangered the lives of the inmate and his colleagues, Penzone said.

“This young man, for whatever reason led him to make this decision, will now not only lose his career, but perhaps his own future will undoubtedly be adversely hindered.

‘Everything must be done’

Penzone said he is in the process of calling on all prisons to purchase scanning machines to check for contraband entering Maricopa County. Each of these machines could cost him $165,985.

“If we want to be a drug-free and safe prison system, we need to do whatever it takes to make sure that employees and others are comfortable with the idea of ​​checking. I mean, said Penzone.

As for the type of machine, he says he wants to talk to an expert about what is the safest and most efficient.

For now, Penzone says they have machines that check inmates for contraband, but they are looking to upgrade all machines if that is needed.

“I’m going to find the most effective one and put it in all the prisons as soon as possible,” he said.

Smuggling, Drug Use in Prisons, and the Numbers

The press conference was kicked off by the number of drug-related health emergencies that will occur in 2022 inside the Maricopa County Jail.

• 172 inmates were taken to hospital for overdose or drug-related incidents
• Medical examiners say 17 deaths in custody were due to overdose or drugs were the main cause of death
• 194 inmates tested positive for some drug from urine samples, of which 114 inmates tested positive for fentanyl

There were 282 reported incidents of drugs in detention centers, representing seizures of some kind.

“150 inmate postcards were intercepted by staff in the mailroom. They tested positive for being soaked in fentanyl and/or methamphetamine,” Penzone said. 1,503 detainees, sergeants and lieutenants have been trained to deploy Narkan.”

The number of inmates saved through the use of Narkan was not specified in detail, but Penzone said it was “a very large number.”

Maricopa County has five prisons.

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