3 prison guards charged with smuggling phones, cigarettes

BARTOW, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say three Florida prison guards have been accused of smuggling cellphones, cigarettes and cash to inmates.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the arrests Thursday of 33-year-old Jules Loya, 23-year-old Nathan Lucy and 25-year-old Victor Medina.

Officials say the sheriff’s office began investigating the Avon Park Correctional Institution guards in September after Department of Corrections investigators learned that guards may have been bringing contraband into the facility.

Authorities say undercover detectives posed as family members of inmates and paid the corrections officers to take items into the prison.

Jail records didn’t list attorneys for the guards.