Corrections officer tried to smuggle drug-soaked papers to inmate: Charges
(FOX 9) - A Minnesota Department of Corrections employee has been charged with allegedly taking part in a scheme to smuggle drugs into the Lino Lakes adult facility.
Lino Lakes facility drug smuggling
What we know:
Minu Yang, 27, of St. Paul, faces one count of bringing/sending contraband into a state prison for his part in allegedly orchestrating the scheme with an inmate.
According to charges filed in Hennepin County, around Oct. 19, officers received information regarding an ongoing conspiracy to smuggle controlled substances into the facility.
During the course of an investigation, authorities uncovered a coordinated plan between an inmate, the inmate’s mother and Yang to smuggle the contraband by soaking them in sheets of beading paper, which would then be brought to the inside by Yang.
Officers uncovered through recorded phone calls that on Oct. 26, Yang would be smuggling the drugs inside with him.
However, on that day, when he scanned his work badge to enter a secured area, officers placed him under arrest.
Dig deeper:
During a search, officers located nine sheets of the beading paper on Yang, which was consistent with the description given in the recorded calls.
As part of a subsequent search of Yang’s apartment, authorities located an envelope matching the one used to send the drug-laced paper.
In an interview with police, Yang admitted that he had been recruited to pick up the drugs mailed to him and bring them into prison, being told he would receive $2,000 for his efforts in the plan. He admitted that he knew the papers would be laced with drugs, and that the inmate’s mother would coordinate their distribution, according to the charges.
The suspected drug-infused papers are still being tested by authorities.
In the 1960s, beading paper gained popularity by being soaked in LSD.
Big picture view:
The Minnesota Correctional Facility in Lino Lakes opened in 1963 and originally served juveniles until 1978, when it was remodeled and converted to an adult facility.
It currently operates as a medium-security and minimum-security facility, with a population of 1,300 adult males.
According to the Department of Corrections, the facility has the highest concentration of educational and treatment programs in the state and often serves as a "final phase" as inmates are prepared for release.
The Source: Information provided by charges filed in Hennepin County.