Correction Officer Caught Smuggling Drugs into Atlantic County Jail

MAYS LANDING- A 25 year-old Atlantic Justice Facility Correctional Police Officer is charged with second degree Official Misconduct following a joint investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Atlantic County Justice Facility (ACJF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.  Over a period of several months the joint investigation determined that  Luis A. Mercado of Galloway Township used his position as a correctional police officer at the ACJF to smuggle contraband, which included narcotics and cell phones, into the Atlantic County Justice Facility and used his position therein to further a criminal organization. A detention hearing was held on Oct. 2, 2020, and at that time Mercado was released. Mercado is suspended without pay.