A 35-year-old Everett woman was arrested on Monday after attempting to smuggle contraband believed to be Suboxone into Stafford Creek Correctional Center.

The arrest was a cooperative effort between the county’s drug task force and the Department of Corrections, said Sgt. Darrin King of the drug task force, as prison staff work to escalate interdiction efforts for contraband being smuggled into the prison.

The woman arrested Monday had been identified previously as suspicious, King said.

“(Prison personnel) watch cameras. They had seen suspicious things twice,” King said. “They decided to contact her next time she came to visit.”

About 100 Suboxone strips were confiscated from the woman in a package approximately the size of a Jolly Rancher, according to the news release. The Suboxone is valued significantly more highly in the prison’s closed economy than in public, King said.

“It’s about ten dollars a strip on the street, but in a jail, it’s a hundred,” King said, making the total value of this bust in the prison ecosystem around $10,000.

Suboxone is a drug used to treat opioid dependence, and requires a prescription, making it contraband within the correctional system, King said.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.