MIAMI – A former Miami-Dade correctional officer is accused of being involved in a criminal enterprise to smuggle narcotics and other contraband for sale into the county jails.
On Wednesday, Vernell Syrethia Lawson, 33, and alleged accomplice Gabrielle Nicole Bess-Mills, 35, made their first appearances in federal court in Miami on a previously sealed indictment containing charges related to a continuing criminal enterprise.
The Department of Justice said the operation was led by Terrance Carter, 31.
The defendants are residents of Miami-Dade County.
Carter allegedly relied on the corruption of Lawson and other Miami-Dade correctional officers, as well as drug trafficking associates, according to the indictment.
Lawson and Bess-Mills are charged with possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, participating in a conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute and racketeering promotion through bribery and drug trafficking.
Lawson also is charged with extortion under the the Hobbs Act, which prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
The indictment also charges Carter with operating the continuing criminal enterprise and use of interstate facilities to commit violence in furtherance of racketeering.
This case was investigated by a task force formed by the Miami-Dade police and corrections departments, with the support of federal, state and local partners, to combat drug trafficking organizations operating in the Miami-Dade correctional facilities with the assistance of corrupt public officials. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Corrections assisted.
