One woman was arrested and two other people are under investigation after Johnson County jail officials found a drug hidden in a greeting card sent to an inmate.
Karen L. Fellers, 51, 6051 S. Tacoma Ave., Indianapolis, was charged with trafficking with an inmate. Two other people are being investigated but have not been charged.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office investigation began in December, when a jail worker found Suboxone hidden in a greeting card sent to an inmate.
The drug, which is used to treat pain or addiction to narcotics, was in the form of four dissolvable strips that were tucked under the envelope flap, according to the police report.
Investigators began looking into calls and visits, which are all recorded, to figure out who may have sent the Suboxone. They found calls involving Fellers, discussing sending Suboxone to the jail. Fellers also said she needed to attend an appointment to get the drug, and investigators found she had a prescription for the Suboxone, the report said.
Fellers declined to speak with investigators and asked for an attorney, the report said. She was arrested and taken to the Johnson County jail, where she was released on $3,300 bond.
The issue is one that jail officials from around the state have weighed in on, since the dissolvable strips are easier to try to smuggle into jails, Sheriff Doug Cox said.
Cox plans to testify to state lawmakers about legislation to require the drug to be prescribed in pill form instead, especially for patients with Medicaid, he said.
Jail and law enforcement officials from around the state, including Marion, Johnson, Hamilton and Hancock, also recently signed a letter making the same request to the director of the Indiana Medicaid program.
