RI Ex-Corrections Officer Admits To Smuggling 200 Suboxone Strips Into Prison

SMITHFIELD, RI — A now former correctional officer from Smithfield admitted to a federal judge he smuggled 200 Suboxone strips into the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.

Kaii Almeida-Falcones, 30, pleaded guilty Monday to providing contraband to an inmate. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12.

In mid-February 2021, two inmates houses at the prison communicated with a former detainee and another person outside the prison to arrange to provide Suboxone strips to Almeida-Falcones, who then smuggled the Suboxone inside the facility, prosecutors said.

On Feb. 15, 2021, a strip search of detainee Emmanuel Nolasco, 37, of Providence, and his cell, revealed a package containing Suboxone strips, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the strips were sent to a lab that determined the presence of 201 strips, 5 of which were partial strips, all containing Buprenorphine, which is an ingredient in Suboxone.

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