LANSING — The Michigan State Police has charged a corrections officer and another man with trying to smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal drugs into an Upper Peninsula prison.
It’s the latest in a series of cases involving Michigan Department of Corrections officers allegedly smuggling drugs into prison to sell to prisoners.
Andre Taylor, 59, of Clinton Township, who worked for the MDOC near his home but was on a temporary work assignment in the Upper Peninsula, is accused of attempting to smuggle K2, Suboxone, marijuana wax, methamphetamine and other unspecified contraband into Kinross Correctional Facility, near Kincheloe in the U.P., the MSP said in a Friday news release posted on X.
Kinross Correctional Facility
The drugs, seized during a traffic stop and the execution of search warrants resulting from a joint investigation that began in December, had an estimated value inside prison of $443,000, the news release said.
“In addition, $4,592 in cash was seized from Taylor, which was suspected to be payment for the illegal operation,” the release said.
Charged with Taylor is another man, Edward King, 57, of Detroit, the release said.
Both men have been arraigned in 91st District Court in Sault Ste. Marie and have posted bond, which was set at $25,000 for Taylor and $150,000 for King, the release said. Both are due back in court Feb. 27.
The defendants and attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.
In December, the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) team received a tip from the MDOC about “a potential smuggling attempt involving an MDOC officer,” the release said.
Detectives and troopers from the MSP joined UPSET and the MDOC in investigating the case, the release said.
A Free Press investigation in 2022 pointed to corrections officers and other prison employees as a significant source of illegal drugs amid surging prison overdoses. A 2023 Free Press report detailed the struggles in trying to stay clean for five women held at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility near Ypsilanti, amid what they described as easy access to illegal drugs and a lack of access to effective programming.
Jenni Riehle, a spokeswoman for the MDOC, would not confirm which Lower Peninsula prison Taylor normally worked at. She said in a Monday email Taylor “is still under investigation,” and “is no longer working for the department.”
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan prison officer charged in $443K attempted drug smuggling case