Copyright © 2021 Albuquerque Journal
An Albuquerque man is accused of trying to sneak magic mushrooms and more into jail by hiding them in a different dank, dark place.
Unfortunately, for Benny Gaona, a body scan tipped off jailers.
The 35-year-old is charged with three counts of trafficking controlled substances and one count of tampering with evidence. He is currently booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies were called to MDC around 5:15 p.m. when an inmate was found with “many narcotics” during a search. The man, Gaona, was being booked on a warrant for driving on a suspended license when the alleged drugs were found.
MDC staff told deputies a body scan showed a “linear anomaly” at Gaona’s lower pelvic area. Deputies were told Gaona was “nervous” and “walking in slow movements” as he was led to a shower area where he was strip-searched by corrections officers.
Jail staff said Gaona pulled three bags from between his legs near his scrotum.
Corrections officers told deputies one bag had 190 fentanyl pills, another bag had 35 grams of heroin and a third bag had 15 grams of psychedelic mushrooms. Deputies noted that drugs are used as “currency” in jail and inmates will “sell and barter narcotics for other drugs, commissary items such as food and hygiene, as well as for phone calls.”
“If inmates do not have money put on their books by outside affiliates, then they must eat what MDC provides, and they must use the hygiene that MDC supplies,” a deputy wrote in the complaint. “The purchased items are a higher quality.”
