A lockdown Tuesday at the state prison in St. Johnsbury, put in place after reports that fentanyl had been smuggled into the facility, has been lifted.
Authorities are now awaiting test results to determine if any of the packets of the white powdery substance they found were indeed the highly potent drug which can be deadly even in tiny doses.
There were no signs that inmates or staff members had suffered any ill effects from coming in contact with fentanyl, Michael Touchette, the state’s deputy corrections commissioner, said Wednesday.
“There’s been no indication that anybody is currently under the influence, or was under the influence, or exhibiting any signs of distress related to a fentanyl overdose,” Touchette said.
The 135-bed Northeast Correctional Complex went into lockdown around noon Tuesday after prison officials learned that an inmate lodged at the prison over the weekend may have smuggled in 20 bags of fentanyl.
The lockdown was lifted around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after the facility and prisoners had been searched, Touchette said.
Authorities did find several packets of a white powdery substance in two of the prison living units, the deputy commissioner said. Also, he said, one inmate secreted two packages as part of a bowel movement.
“Until we know what that material is, we wouldn’t charge him,” Touchette said. “We turn that directly over to the Vermont State Police and then we’ll wait for the results from the lab testing before making a decision.”
Adam Silverman, Vermont State Police spokesperson, said Wednesday that once the substances make it to the state police lab in Waterbury, it could take several weeks before the results are in whether it is fentanyl.
“It’s an active and ongoing investigation,” he added. “We have jurisdiction and investigate crimes that are reported to have occurred in Vermont correctional facilities. Beyond that, I’m not going to be able to get into any specifics of the investigations at this point.”
During the prison search Tuesday, authorities also seized what appeared to be a makeshift tattoo device as well as a small amount of marijuana, according to Touchette.
The inmate who was lodged over the weekend was released prior to corrections officials learning that he may have smuggled in fentanyl, a drug many times more potent than heroin.
The department’s Special Response Team and the Vermont State Police were called to the prison Tuesday to search the facility and inmates during the lockdown. State police also provided two drug detection canines.
Touchette declined to identify the man who had been lodged at the prison over the weekend and is suspected of bringing the fentanyl into the facility.
“I don’t want that person’s name out there if he is in fact not the person,” the deputy commissioner said.
Touchette did say that man had been charged with a felony, prompting him to be lodged. A felony charge would have meant he would have been stripped search when lodged at the prison, the deputy commissioner said.
Touchette said this is the first time he knows of in which there was a lockdown due to the reports of fentanyl in a state prison facility.
“I don’t recall an instance of fentanyl of this magnitude making its way into the general population before,” he added.
