According to MDOC, smugglers threw more than 25 packages over a section of fence at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution around 1:30 a.m. These packages contained such items as cellphones, marijuana and 7 pounds of barbecued chicken wings.

Some of the contraband was also sewn into footballs which, according to MDOC, “easily cleared” the prison’s 18-foot tall fence.

Due to sensing technology, officers were able to locate the contraband and also caught sight of the smugglers’ vehicle. A search is now underway for that vehicle by state and local law enforcement.

Among the contraband seized, officials found:

• 4 pounds of marijuana
• 20 pounds of tobacco and rolling papers
• 38 cellphones, chargers and Blue Tooth earbuds
• An assortment of cigars
• Over-the-counter cold medications
• 10 cans of snuff
• Several packs of cigarettes and lighters
• 1 scale
• 1 head scarf
• 7 pounds of barbequed chicken wings.

Inmates having any connection with the smuggling attempt will lose eligibility for early release and accumulated earned time.