Jordan Buie

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Tennessee Department of Correction special agents have uncovered a contraband smuggling operation that was bringing drugs, tobacco products and cell phones into the Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville through the prison's landscaping crew, according to a news release from the department

The release said TDOC officers intercepted 3.9 ounces of marijuana, 10.6 ounces of loose tobacco, 11 cell phones, two SIM cards, nine USB chargers with charging blocks, three cigarette lighters, three rolls of black electrical tape, 14 hanging air fresheners and 50 cigar wraps on Feb. 22, before the items entered the prison.

According to TDOC, the find prompted an investigation that eventually linked the contraband to inmates on the landscaping crew who were working with outside sources, including a woman named Janet Utley.

TDOC agents arrested Utley on two felony counts of introduction of contraband into a penal institution on Monday.

The investigation is ongoing and TDOC officials are working with the office of Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk on the case, the release said.

Tips can be reported anonymously to our 24-hour hotline at 1-844-TDC-FIND (1-844-832-3463).

Reporter Jordan Buie can be reached at 615-726-5970 or on Twitter @jordanbuie



