THE BRONX — A worker with a CUNY services program stuffed 88 grams of marijuana, K2 and tobacco along with two packs of cigarettes in his crotch to smuggle it into Rikers Island, officials said.
Aaron Grullon, a 24-year-old program aide for CUNY's Next Steps program, was sniffed out by guard dogs in a classroom at the George R. Vierno Center about 10:45 a.m. Sept. 7, according prosecutors and jail officials.
He had a large Ziploc bag in his underwear carrying two bags of marijuana and two bags of K2, according to Captain Robert Ellis of the Department of Investigation.
Grullon, who worked for a program that "provides facility-based services to detainees on Rikers Island," also had a purple latex glove full of tobacco and two packs of Newport cigarettes, officials said.
Grullon was arrested for promoting prison contraband, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of marijuana, Bronx prosecutors said.
He was arraigned on Sept. 8 and released, court records show. He's due back in court Nov. 30, records show.
Information on his lawyer was not immediately available.
CUNY officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials celebrated the bust as a successful example of their increased enforcement efforts.
"This contraband arrest shows how the hard work of our dedicated officers rids the jails of these dangerous items, promoting safety for staff, inmates and visitors alike," said Department of Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte.
Rikers guards have made 3,507 smuggling busts this year, up 63 percent from 2,146 during the same period last year, DOC officials said.
Among the many steps to increase their attentiveness, the DOC has increased the number of search dogs from 13 to 35 and broadened their search area, officials said.
“The recovery of drugs on this service provider is a result of DOC’s commitment to enhanced security at its facilities, and a realization of DOI's recommendation to implement drug-sniffing dogs to screen workers in addition to inmates," said DOI Commissioner Mark Peters.
Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Rikers Island was getting new airport-style scanners that can detect objects other than metal but that only visitors and inmates would be subject to their use, and not guards.
Officials are also spending more than $70 million to make sure security cameras cover the entirety of Rikers Island without any blind spots, officials said.
"Our reforms are getting concrete results," Ponte said.
