According to authorities, a woman was taken into custody on Sunday for reportedly planning to illegally transport narcotics into a valley prison.

Leticia Verney, 41, was apprehended by the Arizona Department of Corrections for her involvement in a scheme to smuggle drugs into the Arizona State Prison Complex – Lewis in Buckeye, based on recordings obtained by authorities.

After being transported to MCSO’s Intake, Transfer and Release facility, she was brought to jail. During a search, a canine named Bear detected a package on her body.

According to MCSO, Verney was positioned on the search wall and a parcel containing illicit substances was discovered.

The package contained 1 ounce of heroin, 1 ounce of methamphetamine, 200 fentanyl pills, and 7 grams of marijuana.

According to a press release from Chief Russ Skinner, the amount and categorization of drugs have a potential street value of tens of thousands of dollars.

In the absence of the K-9 alert, there was a high likelihood that the drugs would have been smuggled into our prisons, posing a serious threat to the safety of both inmates and staff, that could have had potentially resulted in fatal consequences.

The arrest and confiscation of drugs in this situation occurred approximately four months after implementing body scanners and four drug-sniffing dogs in MCSO with the intention of preventing illegal substances in Phoenix detention centers.

The K-9 units were sent to locate illegal substances inside prison cells, however, they are not regularly utilized to inspect prisoners during the intake procedure.