Guards at New York City jail accused of drug trafficking

By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three guards at New York City’s Rikers Island Correctional Facility have been indicted on charges of smuggling drugs into the city’s largest jail complex and selling contraband to inmates, authorities said on Tuesday. The charges stem from a investigation involving wire taps and undercover agents posing as friends and family members of inmates who met up with the Department of Correction officers, according to the city Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. The prosecutor’s office alleged that the officers accepted contraband pills and payment from the undercover agents. Two officers face charges of drug possession and trafficking narcotics, including cocaine and the powerful painkiller oxycodone, into Rikers Island, along with other contraband, the prosecutor said.