A deputy at the Kenton County Detention Center has been arrested and fired from his position in light of allegations that he was smuggling fentanyl into the jail and giving the drugs to inmates, prosecutors said.
Curtis Edwards, 26, was arrested Friday by Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force agents, according to the Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. He's charged with felony counts of trafficking in a controlled substance with a firearm and promoting of contraband.
His arrest came after the detention center discovered evidence indicating that drugs were being given to inmates by an employee, prosecutors said in a news release.
An investigation by the drug strike force revealed Edwards was receiving money from people outside the jail in exchange for delivering drugs to inmates he was in charge of guarding, prosecutors said, adding agents stopped Edwards as he was returning to work from his lunch break and they discovered narcotics in his possession.
"The jail acted quickly to put a stop to it," Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders said in a statement. He said the discovery that an employee was smuggling drugs into the jail landed on Edwards' day off, so agents had a time to investigate before he returned to work.
Edwards was under constant surveillance once he came back to work, Sanders said, so agents were able to "catch him in the act." He was immediately fired upon his arrest.
Edwards was working with multiple inmates to bring the drugs into the detention center, Sander said. The investigation is ongoing and there will likely be additional charges filed against Edwards and some of the inmates when the case is presented to a grand jury.
Edwards remains incarcerated on a $10,000 bond. He's next scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. If convicted on all counts, Edwards faces up to 25 years in prison.
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