BATON ROUGE – A body scanner at Louisiana State Penitentiary helped correctional officers thwart a visitor’s smuggling attempt at the prison Sunday.
The body scanner detected a foreign object inside of 30-year-old Erin J. Harrison of Kinder, Louisiana.
When Department of Corrections officers questioned Harrison, she chose to remove the object and turned it over to investigators, who provided it to West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Deputies.
The oblong object wrapped in plastic is suspected to be 18 grams of synthetic marijuana.
Louisiana State Penitentiary investigators also searched Harrison’s vehicle and found two bottles of liquor including tequila and wine.
West Feliciana Parish Deputies booked Harrison with contraband, taking to and from a penal institution.
The body scanners at Louisiana state institutions are helping prevent visitors from smuggling drugs into the prisons.
The department warns visitors, they are subject to search when entering any state prison, and will be arrested if caught attempting to bring contraband onto the property.