(CNN) Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials found a loaded firearm Thursday inside a housing unit at the federal prison in New York, the agency said. This is the same prison where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself last summer.

The Metropolitan Correctional Center has been on modified operations status since last week when staff received a tip that there might be a firearm in the facility. BOP personnel launched what it called a comprehensive search recovering contraband including cell phones, narcotics and home-made weapons, according to a BOP press release issued Thursday.

The investigation has led to complaints from inmates, who have described worsened conditions at the prison in the last week to their attorneys.

They have not been provided with hot food for several consecutive days and have had to wash their laundry in their showers, sinks and toilets, David Patton, the attorney-in-chief of Federal Defenders of New York, told CNN. Others have reported not being allowed to shower and being forced to use the toilet in the company of their cellmate, Patton added.

Inside inmate complaints

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