Two inmates smuggled prescription drugs by mail into Auburn Jail, Placer deputies say
Two inmates at Auburn Jail are accused of conspiring with others to smuggle in a brand name prescription drug used to treat opioid addiction that can become addictive.
Mong Yang and Movses Dermishyan face charges of criminal conspiracy, drug possession and drug distribution within a jail facility, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
The drugs the inmates smuggled into Auburn Jail were identified as Suboxone dissolvable strips, which were found concealed inside mail envelopes, sheriff’s officials said.
Suboxone comes as an oral film that’s placed under the tongue or between the gums and cheek before it dissolves in the mouth, according to Medical News Today. Studies show Suboxone is effective for reducing opioid abuse and keeping people in drug treatment over a period of 24 weeks.
The Auburn Jail staff and sheriff’s detectives investigated the source of drugs entering the jail over the past several months. The investigators discovered Yang, 37, and Dermishyan, 31, conspired with people outside the jail to have the drugs smuggled in the mail, and they intended to ingest and sell the Suboxone to other inmates, sheriff’s officials said.
The jail’s mail staff and detectives gathered intelligence and sufficient evidence to arrest the inmates on the new charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators continue to look for the sources of the drugs and other people involved in the smuggling.
