Woman Hid Drugs Under a Rock for Inmate on Work Detail: Cops

SOMERS, CT — A Norwich woman has been charged with several crimes for allegedly leaving a stash of narcotics for a prison inmate to pick up while at a work detail, a state police report indicates.

Wanda Santiago was arrested on April 1, appeared in court on April 3, and remained in custody on a $200,000 bond Tuesday, a clerk at Rockville Superior Court said.

Her case has been transferred to the Part A docket and she is due back in court on April 21, a clerk at the courthouse said.

Santiago is accused of driving to the state Department of Transportation highway maintenance facility in Willington and hiding a stash of suboxone for Esteban Perez, who is an inmate at a facility in Somers, according to an arrest report.

She hid the drugs under a rock, and Perez was to pick it up while out on a highway work detail, according to an arrest report.

Corrections officers were tipped off by phone conversations that were being monitored, according to an arrest report.

Santiago has been charged with:

• The illegal sale of a controlled substance
• Criminal attempt to sell a controlled substance
• Conveying an unauthorized item into an institution with a corresponding attempt charge
• Two counts of conspiracy

Photo Credit: CSP