CLEVELAND — An Ohio man has learned his sentence for his role in shipping drug-laced books to inmates in a prison.
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Austin Siebert, 30, of Maumee, was sentenced to 140 months, which is approximately 11 years, in prison this week, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
The sentencing came after Siebert pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
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Court documents state that prison officials at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Lorain County found that Siebert was in “regular communication” with multiple inmates and mailing books to them.
Suspicious book packages were seized and sent to a lab for testing, where they tested positive for the presence of synthetic cannabinoids.
A federal search warrant was executed at his home in Maumee. There, agents seized a paperback book that was suspected of being soaked with narcotics, a book binding machine, and package mailing labels.
Agents also seized a loaded Bersa Thunder, .380 semiautomatic pistol, and several bags containing suspected drugs in pill and powder forms.
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