Thread: Pain pills, illegal immigration fueling drug epidemic in Hamblen County

wate.com
By HANA KIM
6 News Reporter

The sheriff says organized drug rings in the Hispanic community are also causing an increase in human trafficking and prostitution.

VIDEO: Pain pills, illegal immigration fuel drug epidemic in Hamblen Co

MORRISTOWN (WATE) - A growing number of drug busts in Hamblen County are evidence of a growing problem in the community.

Authorities found $15,000 worth of cocaine, along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia at a home on Faulkner Road.

Abel Thomas-Silva, 31, is facing several drug charges. He's in the Hamblen County Jail and being detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement because it's believed he entered the U.S. illegally.

The Hamblen County Jail has extreme overcrowding, and Sheriff Esco Jarnagin says drugs are to blame.

6 News got a tour of the jail Wednesday, when about 345 inmates were calling it home. "If you take the drug problem out of the ratio of the 345 people, we would have less than 50 inmates," Sheriff Jarnagin said.

Every day, the jail is about 100 inmates over capacity. "It's a tragedy to see people on drugs lose everything, even their lives," the sheriff said. "The pills are the number one issue."

If you think jail cells mean sobriety, think again.

One example deputies showed us were bags of confiscated drugs they found hidden in bathrooms and visitation rooms. They say families and friends are trying to smuggle in everything from pills to cocaine and marijuana. The drugs are carefully packaged so inmates can insert them into their bodies.

6 News also saw an envelope addressed to an inmate who was trying to smuggle in a drug called Suboxone by attaching it underneath the stamp.

Suboxone is used to treat opiate addiction, and deputies say addicts behind bars are abusing it.

Also adding to the drug epidemic are the pipelines from Mexico and South America feeding drugs directly into Hamblen County.

Sheriff Jarnagin says many Hispanic illegal immigrants are behind the drug rings. He also explained that a metal press found in the Faulkner Road drug bust "...means they are dealing with large quantities and they have a lot of network."

As the population grows inside the jail, the more taxing it is to the population outside. In 2011, Hamblen County fed 27,000 meals to illegal immigrants in custody. That was only about 10% percent of the whole jail population.

The sheriff says organized drug rings in the Hispanic community are also causing an increase in human trafficking and prostitution.

Pain pills, illegal immigration fuel drug epidemic in Hamblen Co

Sheriff Jarnagin says many Hispanic illegal immigrants are behind the drug rings. He also explained that a metal press found in the Faulkner Road drug bust "...means they are dealing with large quantities and they have a lot of network."

He doesn't mince his words.

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