A Lewes woman faces charges after police say she tried to smuggle Suboxone to a prisoner at Sussex Correctional Institution. The inmate also faces charges.

Teresa C. Cook, 38, was found in possession of Suboxone when she entered the lobby area of SCI at 5:30 p.m. July 30, said Paul Shavack, deputy bureau chief of prisons.

Shavack said Cook had been developed as a person of interest following an investigation into Suboxone prison smuggling involving Aron W. McNatt, 36, an inmate serving a two-year sentence for DUI.

Shavack said McNatt solicited Cook to smuggle the Suboxone into the facility during their scheduled visit. Court papers state that investigators recorded Cook saying she would bring Suboxone into SCI on July 30. When she arrived at SCI, records state, she was searched and made aware that she was under investigation. When Cook was given the opportunity to turn over the Suboxone, records state, she removed her wedding band and produced one Suboxone strip she had concealed beneath her ring.

“The arrest of Cook and McNatt is a result of our comprehensive strategy to interdict contraband that enters our facilities,” said Shavack. “Through extensive investigative efforts and measures, the department will continue instituting system-wide measures to combat the flow of contraband, keeping both our correctional staff and offenders safe.”

Cook was taken into custody and charged with the following felonies: intent to deliver a controlled substance, promoting prison contraband and second-degree conspiracy. Cook was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 2 and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution in default of $3,500 secured bond.

McNatt was charged with the following felonies: second-degree criminal solicitation, promoting prison contraband and second-degree conspiracy. McNatt, already incarcerated in SCI, was arraigned given $3,000 unsecured bond.