Authorities say illegal drugs allegedly smuggled into MCI-Shirley had a street value of $528,000 outside prison walls

She was taken into custody and will be held at the Western Massachusetts Regional Correctional Center for Women in Chicopee, according to reports. Wright retained Anthony R. Riccio of Quincy as her attorney, according to the filings.

A task force made up of state police and DOC investigators focused on Wright on Oct. 28 while she was overseeing the recreation of inmates at gymnasium at MCI-Shirley. Investigators were looking at surveillance cameras at the time, according to a state police report filed in court.

The prisoner, who is listed in the court records as Jeong Son, 39, went to the gym where Wright was staying to return two handballs, state police said. (In 2008, the son pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in Essex Superior Court for the 2005 Lynn home invasion and fatal shootings of Robert Finnerty Sr., 47, and his daughter Amy Dumas, 16.)

“The son was observed reaching into an office in the area of ​​Wright’s location, but Wright was not visible on surveillance video due to the view inside the office being obscured by tinted windows,” state police wrote. “The son was seen pointing in Officer Wright’s direction, quickly removing and placing an unknown package in his left jacket pocket.”

For observation The footage showed Son allegedly transferring the package from his pocket to the back of his pants. On his way back to his cell, Son was stopped by authorities who allegedly discovered laced strips of paper in a bag stuffed into his pants.

“The package was concealed in a blue latex glove inside a small plastic garbage bag,” state police wrote. “The blue latex glove is also consistent with the gloves supplied to the department (DOC).”

The son refused to talk to investigators. He has not yet been charged with the alleged smuggling, authorities said.

While Sohn was being questioned by investigators, Wright allegedly called his apartment and asked him to return to the gym’s office to get supplies. According to the report, investigators told Wright that Son had been pulled over by state police and DOC investigators.

“Officer Wright was advised that Sohn had been intercepted on the track and placed in restraints. After hanging up, Officer Wright said she was going home sick, but was stopped before she left the jail, authorities wrote. She invoked her right to remain silent and did not intend to speak to investigators, the police said.

“While the investigators were with Officer Wright, they learned that Officer Wright was carrying her personal cell phone. This is a prohibited item in the prison without prior permission, which she did not have,” the police wrote.

Wright was allowed to leave jail that day and was arrested Saturday after police obtained an arrest warrant from Ayer County District Court.

Wright earned $94,000 this year, including $29,000 in overtime, more than her 2023 earnings of $80,000, according to the state comptroller’s office. She joined the DOC in 2013, according to records.

Wright’s alleged smuggling activities were denounced Sunday by her former union, the Massachusetts Federal Correctional Employees Union. The union’s executive board said its 3,000 members are at risk of black market drug trafficking in prisons and face health risks from exposure to illicit drugs.

“The Executive Board is grateful to our brothers and sisters in the law enforcement community for the work they did to apprehend this individual. Her actions put all our members, employees and inmates at risk,” the union said in a statement. statement issued on Sunday. “We are joining law enforcement and the public safety community in our efforts to root out anyone who brings drugs and dangerous contraband into prisons.”

The contraband arrest at MCI-Shirley followed a disturbance at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison located in Lancaster. where correctional officers were injured last month. Separately, 150 Souza-Baranovsky inmates were allowed to file a class-action lawsuit in October, alleging that they experienced excessive force by DOC personnel in 2020.

According to state police, Wright tendered her resignation in September as part of her plan to move to New Jersey, where she planned to live with her sister. As part of the move, she planned to apply for a job with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, state police said.

The Globe’s Jeremiah Manion contributed to this report.

John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JREbosglobe.