Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

At Atlanta prison, 'sophisticated operation' of smuggled drugs, booze

Patches of metal cover holes that minimum-security inmates have cut into the fence around the Atlanta federal penitentiary's prison camp as they escaped and then sneaked back in. (David Barnes / For the AJC)

Credit: David Barnes

Credit: David Barnes

Patches of metal cover holes that minimum-security inmates have cut into the fence around the Atlanta federal penitentiary's prison camp as they escaped and then sneaked back in. (David Barnes / For the AJC)
By Rhonda Cook
Feb 21, 2017

Drugs. Booze. Barbecue ribs. And Mexican takeout.

An inmate at the prison camp adjacent to the U.S. Penitentiary in southeast Atlanta says prisoners there routinely sneak in and out through patched holes in the fence, returning with contraband.

He described a "sophisticated operation" involving teams of inmates who call themselves ninjas.

The head of a prison guard union official said there are usually only one or two correctional officers guarding almost 500 minimum-security inmates at the camp.

To read more, please visit myajc.com

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