Synthetic drugs smuggled in paper at Chicago's Cook County Jail, eight inmates dead

Cook County Jail in Chicago saw eight fatal overdoses in 2023, up from one or two a year. Drugs were found soaked into letters and book pages sent to inmates.

Synthetic drugs hidden in prison mail kill eight at Cook County Jail

Eight inmates died of fatal seizures at Cook County Jail in Chicago in 2023, bbc.co.uk reports — a sharp rise from the facility's typical one or two overdose deaths per year. Security footage captured prisoners spasming and collapsing inside the jail, which is both the largest in Chicago and the largest single-use jail in the United States.

Authorities had previously installed airport-style body scanners to stop drugs being concealed in body cavities. That method was largely curbed, but a new route emerged: synthetic drugs soaked into the paper of letters and books mailed directly to inmates.

BBC correspondent Quentin Sommerville accompanied corrections officers during an early morning raid on the jail's high-security D block, where staff checked every scrap of paper for contraband.

To gauge the broader threat, the BBC spoke with a former inmate and dealer who described how synthetic drugs can be produced domestically using household ingredients. The source said this domestic manufacturing capability could reduce reliance on drug supply from outside the United States, presenting a new challenge for authorities seeking to cut off supply chains at the border.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)