KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A woman was arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into the Kent County Jail through fraudulent mail.
51-year-old Shannon Soltys, of Cedar Springs, was arrested Tuesday, May 9. She is accused of sending narcotics to inmates by sending fraudulent mail posing as local attorneys.
Investigators say a suspicious piece of mail was reported on April 27 when an attorney received an envelope with her information in the return address. It had been sent to an inmate who was no longer at the jail, and the post office returned it to the attorney.
The attorney did not send the mail and reported the incident to the Kent County Sheriff's Office.
The Kent Area Narcotics Team began an investigation. Court documents say investigators heard Soltys admitting to sending the package containing Suboxone in a phone conversation with another inmate.
A search warrant was conducted on May 9 on a home in the 17000 block of Trenton Avenue in Cedar Springs. There, investigators found methamphetamine, fentanyl, digital scales and drug packaging.
Soltys was arrested. Five others were taken into custody on drug- and firearm-related charges.
Soltys admitted to sending the inmate two packages each containing 10 strips of Suboxone. She was charged with smuggling contraband into a correctional facility and four drug-related charges. She was arraigned in the 63rd District Court.
"The KCSO is using this information to increase our awareness of tactics used in attempts to exploit the jail’s security and is thankful for an astute attorney," investigators said in a release. "As always, if you see something suspicious, say something."
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