Midlands woman mailed meth and other drugs into max-security SC prison, warrants say
A 62-year-old Midlands woman is charged with multiple drug crimes after authorities say she mailed meth and other drugs to inmates at a maximum-security South Carolina prison.
Lisa Avins, of Sumter, was arrested and faces 19 criminal charges, including 10 counts of distribution of methamphetamines, two counts of possession of suboxone with intent to distribute, five counts of providing contraband to a prison, one count of criminal conspiracy and one count of possession of meth, according to the S.C. Department of Corrections.
According to corrections officials, Avins sent meth, suboxone and tobacco through the mail to multiple inmates at Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville, “with instructions to give the drugs to an inmate who is connected to Avins,” the department said in a news release.
Arrest warrants provided by the corrections department indicate that numerous times in May and June, Avins allegedly mailed envelopes containing drugs to inmates with the intent “to make a profit of money.” Corrections department officials wrote in the warrants that they determined probable cause to charge Avins “based on multiple recorded phone conversations through the inmate telephone system describing the act,” as well as the physical evidence of the mailed drugs.
In addition to mailing drugs, Avins is accused of possessing meth in a handbag in her vehicle at the jail on June 23, the day warrants were issued for her arrest.
Lieber Correctional Institution is a maximum-security state prison for men in Dorchester County, located just over an hour outside of Avins’ home of Sumter.
