Married Prison Guards Charged With Bringing Drugs Into Delco Prison

THORNTON, PA — A married couple who were prison guards are behind bars after authorities said they brought drugs into the Delaware County prison they worked at last week.

Adham A. Diab, 43, and Lina Tarrad, 35, both corrections officers at George W. Hill Correctional Facility from Upper Darby, have been charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of contraband, and conspiracy to contraband, court records show.

The charges were filed in connection with an incident on Thursday, Jan. 4 at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.

According to authorities, a corrections officer at the prison went into an employee-only restroom after Diab used it and found a blue baggie in the toilet and bloody tissues in the trash.

Investigators then interviewed Diab and found a baggie with "waverunner" printed on it containing a white powdery substance that later tested positive for fentanyl on him, authorities said.

Then, investigators found Diab's wife, Tarrad, in the women's block of the prison.

Authorities asked if she had any drugs on her, and she pulled out a baggie, also with "waverunner" printed on it, that contained a white powdery substance.

The substance also tested positive for fentanyl, authorities said.

The two were taken into custody and remanded to the facility in lieu of 10 percent of $300,000 bail, each.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Jan. 16 for both Diab and Tarrad, court records show.

"Since the change in management of the George Hill Correctional Facility to the county government, our Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has seen a 100% improvement in communication and collaboration between the security personnel at George Hill and CID." Chief County Detective James Nolan said. "For the first time, we have confidence that incidents of crime that take place in or at the jail are being fully reported and prosecuted. We hope this leads to a safer facility for both the people incarcerated and the people who work at the facility."