Melon full of tobacco, drugs intercepted at jail

WENATCHEE, Wash.  — Despite the efforts of drug smugglers, stuffed cantaloupe was not on the menu at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center this week.

On Monday, jail officers found tobacco and a baggie full of oxycodone pills inside a melon that was destined for use as food for jail inmates.

It wasn’t hard to spot.

“It was like a pumpkin, with a noticeable cut around the top,” said Phil Stanley, jail administrator. “Somebody would have had to be a little bit more sneaky than they were.”

Staff at the Plaza Super Jet had called to tell jail workers that the store’s surveillance video showed two young females dropping off a shopping bag, which was later found to contain a melon. The melon had been placed with surplus food that was picked up by jail staff. The Plaza Super Jet looked at the video some time after the melon was left there.

Stanley said the jail routinely uses surplus food from local grocery stores, and he noted that contraband has come in with food in the past. Asked if it was always found before reaching inmates, he said, “We hope so.”

No arrests are expected in the case, said Cherie Smith, a Wenatchee Police Department spokeswoman. She said she did not know if the young women’s faces were visible on the video. The investigation is continuing.