Jailer: 8 female inmates overdose after snorting heroin

CATLETTSBURG, Ky. (AP) – Authorities say 8 female inmates were taken to the hospital after overdosing on heroin at a Kentucky jail.

News outlets report Boyd County Detention Center Jailer Joe Burchett says it happened Saturday night. Burchett says the women were hospitalized after snorting heroin in a jail bathroom. They were treated with the overdose-reversing drug Narcan. All survived and were released hours later.

Inmate Felicia Hayes is accused of smuggling the drug into the jail when she was arrested on drug trafficking charges Thursday. Burchett says the drug was likely secured in a body cavity, evading the standard strip search. The facility doesn’t have an x-ray machine.

Police recovered both heroin and cocaine from the scene.

The eight women were charged with promoting contraband. Twenty-four-year-old Hayes faces additional charges including drug possession.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.