Woman charged with conspiring to smuggle 77 grams of meth to inmates
A conspiracy to smuggle methamphetamine to inmates at the Floyd County Prison has resulted in the arrest of a Northeast Georgia woman.
According to Floyd County jail reports:
Merilea Levitt Hansler, of Cumming, turned herself in at the Floyd County Jail Monday morning to face felony charges of items prohibited for inmates, conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act and use of a communications facility involving a controlled substance.
A warrant for her arrest alleges that Hansler conspired with two others to have 77 grams of meth smuggled into the prison to a pair of inmates August 5. Recorded phone lines and inmate email systems were utilized during the investigation.
Warden Mike Long said that his Criminal Investigations Division worked the case along with officers from the Rome Floyd Metro Task Force to stop the drugs from being smuggled into the prison earlier this month.
The warrant for Hansler indicates that she and another woman conspired with two inmates to have the meth delivered by a third party to an inmate crew working at the Public Animal Welfare Services facility at 99 N. Avenue.
The shipment was intercepted by Floyd County Prison personnel at the shelter who immediately called Task Force agents to assist in the investigation.
They found the drugs on Dale Bruce Shaw, 35, of Cartersville. Task force commander Sgt. Cathy Taylor said a handgun was found inside
Shaw’s car after her agents obtained a search warrant for the vehicle.
He was arrested on the scene and charged with possession of meth with intent to distribute, drug trafficking and possession of a firearm during commission of a crime.
Cpl. Guy Hunt with the prison CID said the large cache of 77 grams was one of the largest drug seizures he’d investigated in the prison system.
Hunt said its not unusual for inmates trying to establish their own base of power within the penal system to attempt to smuggle contraband into the prison to solidify their status among others.