BOSTON
A corrections officer at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute facility in Norfolk was arrested Monday and charged in connection with conspiracy to smuggle Suboxone strips into the facility for an inmate, according to officials.
Steven J. Frazer, 29, of Cumberland, R.I., was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Frazer is an employee of the Massachusetts Department of Correction.
Beginning around Nov. 14, 2018, it is alleged that Frazer began arranging with a cooperating witness to smuggle Suboxone strips into the Norfolk facility to sell to inmates, officials said.
Suboxone is a Class III controlled substance used to treat heroin addiction, but some addicts abuse it to get high. It is coveted as contraband in prisons across the nation and particularly in New England.
According to court documents, around midnight on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, the cooperating witness met Frazer in a South Attleboro parking lot and provided him with 40 Suboxone strips, 24 pages of K2 (a synthetic cannabinoid, which is more powerful and more dangerous than marijuana), and $2,500 in cash.
After the meeting – which was audio and video recorded by law enforcement – federal agents arrested Frazer.
Fraser is facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted for the charges, according to authorities.