Massachusetts Correction Officer suspended, arraigned, after allegedly smuggling drugs into jail

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian have announced that a Correction Officer was arraigned in Lowell District Court in connection with allegedly conspiring to violate the Controlled Substances Act and delivering drugs to prisoners in the Middlesex Jail and House of Correction.

Between April and August of 2020, while 32-year-old Francisco Morales-Urizandi of Tewksbury was working as a Correction Officer at the Middlesex Jail and House of Correction, he allegedly conspired with two detainees and associates outside of the facility to acquire and prepare certain controlled substances, including Suboxone, Marijuana, K2, and cigarettes for distribution inside the facility. Morales-Urizandi also allegedly collected the controlled substances from outside associates and covertly transported them into the facility for distribution.

The alleged conspiracy was uncovered during an internal investigation conducted by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Internal Investigations Unit (IIU). The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the district attorney’s office assisted with the investigation.

At Friday’s arraignment, bail was set at $1,000. Morales-Urizandi was also ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the witnesses and co-conspirators in the case and to be on a GPS monitoring device.

The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office has placed Morales-Urizandi on suspension without pay.