Officer arrested for sneaking contraband into jail | Crime

TROUP COUNTY, GA - An officer at the Troup County Jail has been arrested for sneaking marijuana, cell phones, credit cards and other items to inmates.

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office looked into the case for eight months and has charged Officer Angel Vargas, 38, with violating Georgia’s controlled substance act, prohibited possession of inmate contraband and crossing the guard line of the jail with contraband.

The Sheriff’s Office has arrested about 23 people for bringing contraband to inmates in exchange for payment over the last ten months. About half of these arrests were civilians.

These cases are felony offenses and will probably end in jail time for those who were caught crossing the guard line with contraband.

 Contraband has become a large problem for the entire state. Georgia Department of Corrections officials say that in the last four years around 12,000 cell phones have been confiscated after getting in to their facilities.

More than 400 civilians and 77 correctional officers have been arrested for bringing different contraband to inmates during the same four years.

Sheriff Donny Turner will not tolerate any illegal items in his jail, “Indiscriminately, the introduction of contraband to this facility will not be tolerated. In law enforcement, we are all held to a much higher standard. As such, even detention officers who choose to commit a crime will be prosecuted and do their time.”