Sheriff: Man tried to sneak 109 bags of crack cocaine into Linn County Jail

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's not unheard of for inmates coming into the Linn County Jail to try to hide contraband in what might be regarded as an uncomfortable place on their bodies.

'It's uncommon,” said Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner. 'It's not unheard of. That's the reason we conduct strip-searches.”

That said, every once in a while someone tries to sneak something into the jail that is pretty far out of the ordinary. In this case, it was a Cedar Rapids man with 109 plastic bags of crack cocaine concealed in his rectum. The drugs were found inside two larger bags during a strip search when Brandon D. Wilson, of Cedar Rapids, was booked at the jail on Monday on a possession of a controlled substance charge. Wilson was stopped by Cedar Rapids police and found to be in possession of marijuana.

While the sheriff's office doesn't track the actual contraband inmates have tried to bring into the facility, Gardner said he suspects Wilson's haul could be a record seizure for the jail.

'A. It's a large quantity,” he said. 'B. It'd have to be uncomfortable. C. I'm glad we found it.”

Gardner said deputies do not strip search all incoming inmates. However, Wilson's charge allowed deputies to perform the search.

Wilson faces charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possessing contraband and possession of a controlled substance.