A citizen brought a suspicious package to the Tyrrell County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 17, saying it was found on a ditch bank beside Snell Road near the Tyrrell Prison Work Farm north of Columbia, Sheriff Darryl Liverman stated.

The sheriff and Deputies Major Shivley and Nathan Mauffray opened the package and found that it contained contraband which included over two pounds of smoking tobacco, a cigarette lighter, a roll of black electrical tape and clear plastic bags of various sizes.

Officers believe that the tobacco was dropped off to be smuggled into the prison to be sold.

“The items found inside the package  are of the type that would be used to package the tobacco for sale,” Sheriff Liverman stated.

It is a misdemeanor to possess tobacco on a prison facility. Officials at the prison were notified regarding the contraband found, the sheriff reported.