Balls loaded with contraband found on prison property

Plus: Drunk driver nabbed in police parking lot; woman breaks law shortly after being released from custody

An occasional roundup of unusual events reported by the Ontario Provincial Police:

A sneaky plan to get contraband into a prison was foiled.

Two males allegedly cut open footballs, filled them with marijuana, tobacco, cellphones, SIM cards and edged weapons, used duct tape to seal the footballs and apparently threw them over a fence or wall at Beaver Creek Institution, a federal prison in Gravenhurst.

A photo released by the OPP shows eight footballs, but only two of them were found on prison property. Staff found the footballs around 4 a.m. on Nov. 22. Police located other footballs near the prison.

Two Hamilton males, 21 and 15, were seen walking near the prison and were charged with delivering contraband to an inmate, distributing dried cannabis and possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

Contraband sells for a huge amount behind bars. The prison value of these items is $563,000, Correctional Service of Canada said.

Busted at police station

Police didn’t have to go far to nab a suspected impaired driver.

On Nov. 22 at 9 p.m., Peterborough County OPP officers saw a vehicle in the detachment parking lot with its hazard lights on. Witnesses told police the car had hit a curb in the forensic identification services parking lot.

A Fenelon Falls man, 27, was charged with impaired driving.

That makes three

Clearly he is not getting the message.

A man was charged with impaired driving on Nov. 21 in Sioux Lookout, in northwestern Ontario. Police learned the man, 28, of North Caribou Lake, Ont., was a suspended driver and awaiting trial on two other impaired driving charges.

Brief taste of freedom

A woman wasted no time returning to crime.

Moments after being released from custody on a charge, she was caught rummaging through a car in the parking lot of the Norfolk County OPP detachment in Simcoe.

The woman, 38, of Norfolk County was charged with theft. She was held in custody. Police will likely keep an eye on her when she gets out.

Prowler news

Don’t dial 911 if you see this masked bandit.

OPP were called to a Port Dover house at 8 a.m. on Nov. 20 for reports of a raccoon on the property.

“The OPP does not have the equipment to trap and house live animals or transport wild animals and is urging anyone that may need to have an animal removed from their property to call a private animal removal service,” police said.

It’s a myth that a raccoon walking around during the day has rabies, police said.

“Raccoons will come out during the day if there is a food source available at a particular time, if they have been frightened out of their daytime sleeping spot, or if there is high competition in the area at night from other nocturnal animals.”

Pizza mischief

Police in Norfolk County are investigating crimes that fall on the lower end of the severity scale.

“It was determined that several different pizza business in Norfolk County received calls (on Nov. 21) from an unknown individual ordering items that were sent to various homes in the Norfolk County area,” OPP said.

“Investigators were provided with the suspect’s phone number when the orders were made and are currently continuing to investigate this incident. Further updates will be released when new information becomes available.”