The Northeast Correctional Complex went into lockdown Tuesday as authorities searched the St. Johnsbury facility for fentanyl believed to have been smuggled in by a prisoner.
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that has been linked to scores of overdoses in correctional facilities around the country.
According to the state Department of Corrections, about 20 “bags” of fentanyl may have been brought to the facility.
Several packets of a powdery substance have since been recovered in two living units of the facility, which will be tested offsite by the Vermont State Police, according to Michael Touchette, the state’s deputy corrections commissioner.
There had been no apparent signs of exposure or use among the inmates or staff, Touchette said early Tuesday evening.
The facility was placed on lockdown early Tuesday afternoon shortly after the DOC learned of the possibility that fentanyl may be in the prison, Touchette said.
“Information gleaned suggests that this drug may have been introduced by an individual who was lodged at the facility over the weekend,” read a statement from DOC issued Tuesday afternoon.
That inmate is no longer a prisoner at the facility, having been released earlier this week, according Touchette.
The deputy commissioner said the information that DOC received regarding the possibility that fentanyl had been brought into the facility did not “have the level of detail” about how many doses the 20 bags of the drug could produce. Even tiny doses of the drug can be fatal.
Asked how DOC found out that fentanyl may be in the facility, Touchette said, “Primarily through our intelligence officers that are routinely monitoring inmate activity.”
The department’s Special Response Team and the Vermont State Police were also called to search of the facility and inmates, with state police providing two drug detection canines.
The DOC has alerted the local hospital of the situation and an extra case of Narcan, an overdose reversing medication, has been delivered to the facility.
The St. Johnsbury complex includes a 135-bed prison as well as a separate 56-bed work camp and another 50-bed facility for people transitioning from prison to the community, Touchette said.
The report regarding the fentanyl involved the 135-bed main prison facility, he said.
The facility search, Touchette said, is expected to be complete later Tuesday evening, at which point the lockdown would be lifted.
