Ohio woman accused of trying to smuggle heroin into area jail

By Deborah Buckhalter

Published: July 7, 2008

An Ohio woman lost her freedom on Independence Day after being accused of trying to smuggle heroin into the Washington County Correctional Facility.
Mildred Damaris Torres, 34, is charged with trafficking heroin, possession of marijuana, and smuggling contraband into a detention facility, according to Washington County authorities.
Torris was found in possession of about four grams of heroin divided into 30 individual packets, authorities said.
The “prison value” of the heroin was estimated at between $250-$500 per package, according to authorities. Torres was also in possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, officials allege.
According to a press release from the WCSO, Torres was taken into custody while visiting an inmate at the correctional facility on July 4.
The arrest was made after officers received information that Torres would be bringing contraband into the prison and delivering it to an inmate housed at Washington CI.
She was transported to the Washington County Jail where she is being held on a $41,000 bond.
Authorities listed her address as 3282 Pine Valley Road in Columbus, OH.
Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock cited good communication between Department of Corrections staff and county authorities as a major factor in the arrest.
“Whenever information can flow so efficiently between agencies, our ability to foil this kind of illegal activity improves exponentially,” Haddock stated in a press release about the incident.  “Our investigators did an exceptional job on this case and we have to credit the Department of Corrections Inspectors for their invaluable work and information which was key to getting this arrest.”
Heroine is extremely rare in this part of the country, he said, while it is much more prevalent in the north.  For many local law enforcement officers, this was a first-time heroine bust.