Woman sentenced for mailing sheets of paper soaked with drugs to Ohio prison inmates
12/14/2022 12:49 pm PST
COLUMBUS, Ohio (TCD) -- A 46-year-old woman was recently sentenced to just over a year in prison for smuggling sheets of paper soaked with drugs to Ohio prison inmates.
Tanya Baird of South Africa reportedly sent large amounts of K2 and Suboxone via mail to the inmates, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. In June 2021, Baird allegedly mailed at least eight packages, "each containing 30 pieces of saturated paper to an inmate in an Ohio prison."
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, K2 refers to synthetic cannabinoids, which are "human-made mind-altering chemicals that are either sprayed on dried, shredded plant material so they can be smoked or sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices."
Suboxone reportedly decreases withdrawal symptoms, and it’s used to treat opioid dependency.
Baird was reportedly able to get K2 from China and saturated legal documents with the substance in South Africa.
Another individual received packages from Baird containing legal privileged documents that were saturated in K2 and then sent them into Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction facilities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The other individual reportedly received payments from inmates, and those proceeds were then sent to Baird using CashApp or PayPal.
According to the Attorney’s Office, 69 packages were sent in total between June and August 2021. Thirty-four of those packages were intended for the Southern District of Ohio.
In a statement, DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Kent Kleinschmidt said, "Today’s arrest would not have happened without the cooperation and professionalism of our law enforcement partners, especially with the FBI."
Kleinschmidt continued, "Synthetic drugs are extremely dangerous because their use can lead to very erratic behavior and even death. They absolutely have no place in our society, but are especially problematic inside a correctional facility."
On March 24, Baird was reportedly arrested by federal agents at John Glenn International Airport and charged with importing controlled substances.
On Tuesday, Dec. 13, Baird was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, WBNS-TV reports.
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