Inmates used prison dairy farm, bread bakery, and the State House to smuggle in contraband

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– Allegations of sophisticated, highly lucrative black market in the prisons– smuggling in drugs, tobacco and cell phones.

Seventeen defendants faced a judge this morning for more than 106 charges. The prosecutor said inmates used multiple methods of smuggling contraband in, and distributing it to prisons across the state– including dairy farms and bakeries on prison grounds.

“It is extremely sophisticated, and extremely lucrative, and frankly, I’ll give the guy credit. He’s the guy, he’s the main guy that put it together,” Creighton Waters said, the assistant attorney general. 

Prosecutors say Baraka Ramos and Anthony Pyatt were being held at Wateree Correctional institution but were still able to employ people both inside and outside of the prison to smuggle drugs, tobacco, and cell phones.

“He’s also know as Christ, he was inside Wateree. He and his partner, Anthony Pyatt who you will see today, named MP, they were the leaders of this particular contraband organization.”….. “Inmates would then, who were on dairy duty, would then take that contraband, put some of it in milk crates which are sent out to all the other institutions. Then put the rest in eggs and put that in their rectums,” Waters said. 

The indictment says they didn’t just use the dairy farm on prison grounds for their black market. Prosecutors say those in on the operation also used a bakery in Columbia and even the inmate working crews at the state house to get their contraband around prison walls.

“Even if it’s legal on the outside, it’s still very dangerous in the prisons because this is what drives that illegal black market and it leads to violence we’ve  seen in prisons,” Waters said. 

There were a few defendants that got heated during their bond hearing saying it’s unfair they’re getting lumped into these indictments because they have no ties to the Ramos and Pyatt black market ring.

“Everybody else ya’ll got with these things, ya’ll arrested on ya’ll properties arrested with this contraband. I didn’t get caught with nothin’,” Alexander Riley said. 

Some of the men indicted, including one of the so-called leaders, Ramos, was supposed to be getting out of prison on Friday, but now, that’s put on pause.