Upstate NY Woman Finds Creative Way to Smuggle Pot into Prisons

A New York woman admitted to creatively smuggling cannabis into prisons all over New York State.

Maya McIntosh of Albany pleaded guilty this week to sneaking a synthetic cannabinoid to incarcerated individuals. The 33-year-old New Yorker now faces up to 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

How Did an Albany Woman Sneak Cannabis Into New York Prisons?

The method McIntosh used to sneak synthetic drugs into prison is pretty ingenious. According to the United States Attorney John  A. Sarcone III, the Albany woman ordered chemicals to create MDMB-4en-PINACA, a synthetic form of cannabis. After receiving the ingredients at her home and the residence of another suspect, McIntosh combined them to create a liquid form of the drug.

In order to sneak the synthetic cannabinoid into prison, McIntosh soaked printer paper and envelopes with the drug-laced liquid and printed up fake legal documents on the drug-laced stationery. The contraband was disguised by using real attorneys' information in the return address section of the envelopes. The drug-laced correspondence was shipped in Priority Mail Express envelopes and delivered to various prisons across the state of New York.

McIntosh also admitted to selling the papers and envelopes on social media and mailing them to prisoners at her customers' request.

It wasn't revealed just how many packages containing MDMB-4en-PINACA were sent out to inmates, but McIntosh pled guilty to running the operation for a year-and-a-half period from January 2023 to July 2024.

McIntosh pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, distribution and possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession and use of a means of identification.

The Albany woman faces a maximum imprisonment of 20 years for each count and a maximum fine of $1 million for the drug counts and $250,000 for the remaining crimes.