Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne first broke the story on wsbtv.com. The workers were arrested at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday morning.
8 Fulton Jail Workers Arrested By FBI
Among those arrested were a Fulton County deputy and three detention officers, who each face charges related to bringing contraband into the jail and accepting money to facilitate or protect drug transactions, jail officials said. Four other people were arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation into corruption at the jail, officials said.
Sources told Winne that one of the arrested workers was caught with a cellphone, which is prohibited at the jail.
A federal official told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier in the day that some of the arrested workers were Brian Shelby Anthony, a detention officer, Aqeel Muhsin Rasheed, Keithan Henri James and Robert Lee Swain Jr. Channel 2 is working to learn the names of the other individuals.
Chief jailer Dennis Nelson confirmed to Channel 2 that the FBI opened an investigation into relationships between certain jail officers or deputies and inmates in the jail before he left the jail in October. Nelson said employees were suspected in contraband smuggling. He said he had undertaken an aggressive shakedown policy and other steps to curb it.
Contraband issues also came to light after, police said, an inmate was shot by another inmate at the jail June 21. Investigators said it happened on the seventh floor maximum security wing of the jail, where physical contact is not allowed between inmates and visitors.
After the shooting, corrections officers found a five-shot Derringer pistol stuffed inside a toilet paper roll and hidden behind a ceiling panel. They also found nearly 20 illegal cellphones, charging devices and zippered plastic bags full of marijuana.
Officials said Thursday’s arrests were not directly connected to the shooting last week.
If you have information about this case or any corruption, call the FBI’s public corruption hotline at 877-428-5324.
RAW VIDEO: FBI Caravan Leaves Fulton County Jail
