NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Prison-made wine, meth-soaked papers, 10 pounds of tobacco, and drugs stuffed inside footballs - this is just a sample of the contraband that North Carolina correctional officers have confiscated from institutions.
Almost every week, the North Carolina Department of Public safety shares photos of the items that people try to smuggle into prisons and jails in the states.
Some of the forbidden items are mundane, while others are downright shocking.
On Saturday, for example, the department shared a photo of 4 gallons of prison-made wine that officers discovered during a search of cells and common areas at Eastern Correctional Institution in Greene County.
People get quite creative in their attempts to sneak contraband into prisons. Sometimes it's thrown over the fence, while other times it's mailed or smuggled inside, NCDPS said.
People have tried to smuggle tobacco and other substances inside cereal boxes, basketballs, footballs, textbooks, and chip cans.
In July, staff at Dan River Prison Work Farm found a package on the grounds early one morning containing 10 pounds of tobacco, two cellphones and chargers.
One smuggler in late July tried to hide contraband inside the trash at Morrison Correctional Institution's minimum custody unit, where an officer checking the garbage cans found Suboxone strips, airline liquor bottles, loose tobacco, a pack of smokes and a lighter.
The smugglers sometimes aren't so smart. For instance, NCDPS said an offender ID was found alongside a haul outside Southern Correctional Institution containing a bag of K2, packs of marijuana, and tobacco in July.
The more typical items that officers find are cell phones, marijuana, tobacco, Suboxone, and other substances, according to photos shared by the department.
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