A 28-year-old woman attempted to smuggle opioid-laced paper into the Cook County Jail during an inmate visit by concealing the toxic material inside her baby’s diaper while the child was wearing it, officials said Thursday.
Investigators learned on November 8 that Kierra Holder intended to smuggle narcotics into the jail during a visit with an individual in custody that day, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said. Staff members approached Holder when she arrived at the jail with her three children, including an infant, informed her of what they had learned, and escorted her and the children to an office area.
After receiving the Miranda Warning, Holder agreed to cooperate with the investigation and initially denied that contraband was hidden on any of the children, the spokesperson said. Investigators then conducted a search and allegedly found 32 strips of suspected drug-soaked paper, described as “suboxone strips” in a criminal complaint, concealed inside the diaper the infant was wearing.
The sheriff’s office submitted the contraband to the Illinois State Police lab, which confirmed the strips contained buprenorphine, a synthetic opioid commonly used in medication-assisted treatment but considered contraband inside the jail.
Upon receiving the test results, sheriff’s officers arrested Holder on January 4 to face one felony count of bringing contraband into a penal institution. Court records show that Judge Antara Rivera released Holder, who is not charged with a detainable offense, the next day.
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