RIKERS ISLAND — A private investigator was nabbed Friday for smuggling K2 into a jail by hiding it in his underwear, officials said.
Marrion-Paul Small-Williams, 25, was arrested after he tried to sneak 66 grams of synthetic marijuana and approximately 24 grams of marijuana inside the George R.Vierno Center, officials said, adding the drugs were sealed in clear plastic bags in his underwear.
A roll of electrical tape, which is often used for wrapping contraband merchandise, was also found concealed in Small-Williams' underwear, according to officials.
The George R. Vierno Center houses more than 1,300 adolescent and adult inmates.
Small-Williams lives in Manhattan and worked for a security firm, according to sources. He was charged Friday with several counts of promoting prison contraband and unlawful possession of marijuana.
His bail was set at $2,000, according to a spokeswoman for the Bronx district attorney.
Department of Investigation officials said they got a tip that Small-Williams was trying to smuggle contraband as part of an on-going investigation, and they had arranged for a drug-sniffing dog to screen him as he paid a visit to an inmate.
The bags containing the drugs had a "distinct odor" officials said, and as soon as the dog flagged them, Small-Williams voluntarily handed them over, a DOI spokeswoman said. DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters applauded the arrest.
"This arrest is another example of DOI's focused investigation to stop contraband trafficking in our City's jails. A canine unit alerted that there were drugs on this visitor demonstrating why DOI's recommendation to place drug-sniffing dogs at entrances is critical," the Commissioner said.
If convicted, Small-Williams faces up to seven years in prison, officials said. His lawyer's information was not immediately available.
