Corrections officers at the Pearl River County Correctional Facility found a controlled substance hidden under the postal stamp of a letter addressed to an inmate.

The letter was addressed to federal inmate 24-year-old Harold Ladner and as correctional officers were inspecting the letter they noticed something hidden under the stamp, said Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier.

Upon closer examination officers found a controlled narcotic called Suboxone, which is used to treat opiate addictions, but when abused can give the user a heroin like high, Saucier said. The officers removed the substance, replaced the stamp and delivered the letter to Ladner, who was charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband into a correctional facility, Saucier said.

Investigation into the origins of the letter found that Ladner’s sister, 27-year-old Katherine Plescia, who has a last known address of 839 Latimer Rd., Gulfport, was the sender, and is currently wanted by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department for conspiracy to introduce contraband into a correctional facility, Saucier said.

Saucier said the investigation showed that Ladner and Plescia conspired with each other to introduce the substance into the jail, most likely for Lander’s personal use. Introduction of contraband into the jail is at an all time low and Saucier said the department intends to continue that trend.

“People attempting to introduce contraband into our jail, no matter who they are, will be arrested,” Saucier said.

Sheriff David Allison would like to commend the keen eye and hard work of the correctional officers responsible for catching the contraband before it entered the jail.

“I would like to commend the correction officers for doing such a great job in catching something that could have been so easy to slip into the jail,” Allison said. “It shows they examine mail and check behind stamps to see if something is attached to the back of the stamp. I’m very pleased with the outcome of the investigation.”