17 arrested in Rikers contraband smuggling investigation
NEW YORK - Authorities say 17 people, including inmates and corrections officers, have been arrested as part of a Rikers Island contraband smuggling investigation.
The arrests come as part of a NYPD crackdown which has resulted in a 48 percent increase in contraband discovered at city jails, according to the New York Daily News.
Smuggled contraband is cited as a major factor in jail violence.
Recent reforms have tightened screening procedures. Officers warn arriving visitors that they can dump any contraband in amnesty boxes.
CBS New York reports that in November 2015, Kevin McKoy, a Rikers corrections officer, was accused of attempting to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the facility, and Marrion-Paul Small-Williams, a private investigator, was caught attempting to smuggle drugs into Rikers in October.