Feds accuse prison guards of taking bribes, drug trafficking

An FBI agent is believed to have been working undercover posing as a dealer, which may have been how the Georgia officers were discovered.

“Given this magnitude of criminal activity in Georgia’s prison facilities, our work is nowhere near done”, Horn said at a news conference.

The 46 officers along with two civilians and one inmate that were facing charges were expected to go in front of a federal magistrate in groups of four or five on Thursday.

Now it seems as if they’ll have to update their records with this latest, eye-popping haul of prison guards caught with their hands in the cookie jar. The investigation began two years ago and focused on just one prison, where there were allegations of cellphones and fraud.

In recent months, federal prosecutors have obtained a number of indictments alleging corruption inside the state prison system.

“These are systemic problems that were uncovered in these cases and they’re going to require more comprehensive solutions”, Horn said. Among those indicted were 15 correctional officers or former officers and 19 inmates or former inmates at Autry State Prison in Pelham. Using contraband cellphones, inmates called hundreds of unsuspecting people, telling them they would be arrested for missing jury duty unless they made payments to accounts controlled by the inmates, the indictments said.

The indictments resulting in the Thursday arrests were filed over the last three months.

A law enforcement official involved in the investigation said the officers would wear their Georgia Department of Corrections uniforms and badges during the drug trafficking operations to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.