Charlotte County corrections officer sentenced for trying to smuggle drugs into prison

A Charlotte County corrections officer has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for attempting to smuggle drugs into the Charlotte Correctional Institution.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, Troy Alexander Cole, 28, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison for attempted possession with the intent to distribute MDMA and methamphetamine.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Cole pled guilty to the charges on April 20.

According to court documents, Cole, while working at the Charlotte Correctional Institution in June 2021, attempted on three occasions to smuggle what he believed were drugs into the prison for inmates.

Cole agreed to smuggle drugs for inmates in exchange for $400, $1,000, and $4,000, say court documents. Cole would conceal the packages and then inform inmates that they were ready to be retrieved.