Correction Officers Intercept Meat Cleaver Sent To Inmate: Toulon

RIVERHEAD, NY — Someone tried to send an Amazon package with a meat cleaver inside to an inmate at the Suffolk County Correctional facility in Riverhead last week, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon said.

Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office correction officers intercepted the package and, upon inspection, found that the meat cleaver was among the contents of the package, Toulon said. The meat cleaver was confiscated and any other allowable items were delivered to the inmate, Toulon said.

All packages sent to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility are opened and inspected as per New York State minimum standards and regulations for management of county jails and penitentiaries, Toulon said.

“Careful inspection and processing of all mail and packages before they enter the correctional facility is critical," Toulon said. "Any dangerous item, let alone a large knife, that makes its way into the facility could be deadly for staff and inmates alike. While this large meat cleaver was easy to detect, I thank my staff for their careful work in preventing smaller dangerous weapons and drugs from making their way inside through the U.S. mail.”