Cuyahoga County officials have released new body camera footage showing a jail guard caught in a scheme to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the jail where she worked.
Quiana Thompson, 31, was arrested after authorities said she had been funneling drugs into the Cuyahoga County Jail for inmates. She faced charges including drug trafficking and illegal conveyance of narcotics into a detention facility.
According to authorities, detectives first uncovered Thompson’s activities by monitoring recorded jailhouse phone calls. The calls revealed that she used Apple Pay to accept payments for delivering drugs. Surveillance later showed Thompson meeting with relatives of inmates, who handed her packages containing contraband to bring into the jail during her shifts.
The scheme came to a head when detectives observed Thompson receiving an envelope from one inmate’s mother. A traffic stop revealed drugs hidden inside her vehicle. Thompson, who had worked at the jail for just over three years at the time of her arrest, was charged with aggravated drug trafficking, a fourth-degree felony, and held on a $250,000 bond.
The case was later dropped by the prosecutor’s office, which sometimes suggests the suspect may have cooperated with authorities in other ongoing investigations. The bodycam footage, now released to the public, highlights the ongoing challenges correctional facilities face in preventing contraband from entering secure areas.