Maryland prison contraband scheme ends with 15 guilty pleas

BALTIMORE (AP) — Authorities say 15 people have pleaded guilty to participating in a state prison contraband scheme in Maryland. Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office announced this week that the scheme included the use of drones to smuggle drugs, cellphones and other items into the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Maryland. In May, Brown announced that a correctional officer and civilians had been indicted on charges that they assisted the inmates in illegal activity. An investigation began in April 2022, when authorities recovered drugs and other contraband that had been smuggled into the prison after an inmate returned from a hospital visit.