Woman accused of smuggling meth into county jail

An El Paso woman is accused of smuggling nearly six grams of methamphetamine into the county jail annex while visiting an inmate.

Authorities say Marie Morales Barron was visiting inmate David Carbajal on October 27, 2018 when officers found her in possession of the narcotics. She was booked into the El Paso County Jail and charged with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance.

Officials said investigation was underway at the time after the sheriff’s office learned narcotics were being smuggled into the jail annex. Officials said Baron was identified as a potential suspect.

A criminal complaint affidavit obtained by ABC-7 states investigators listened to phone conversations between Carbajal and Barron in which they allegedly coordinated the delivery of narcotics during the visitation period.

Undercover detectives began surveilling Barron, and on October 27th, followed her to the county jail annex in Far East El Paso County. Barron was allowed to speak with Carbajal in one of the inmate visitation pods. At that point, investigators approached Barron and led her away from the visitation pod.

The investigators told Barron they believed she was in possession of narcotics. Barron initially denied the accusations, but later asked to speak with a female detective so that she could “hand it over to her,” the criminal complaint states.

Once inside an office, Barron allegedly removed a photograph from within her jean’s waistband area and handed it over the female detective.

“The photograph was folded in half and held together from the interior fold with black electrical tape. Once the photograph was unfolded, it was found to have a clear plastic baggy held in place with the same black electrical tape. This plastic baggy contained a light blue crystal like substance, suspected of being an illegal narcotic,” the criminal complaint states.

Investigators said the light-blue, crystal-like substance tested positive for Methamphetamine with a total approximate weight of 5.9 grams

Barron’s bond is $50,000. Carbajal was also re-booked on the same charges Barron is facing.