Editor’s Note: Story updated at 11:35 a.m. on May 5, 2025 to correct details of the allegations. MBN regrets the error.

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – An employee at the Whatcom County Jail was arrested following a drug bust at the facility.

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater says corrections deputies found outside contraband last month that had been smuggled into some of the inmates’ rooms.

An investigation determined that an inmate’s fiancé had picked up the items and given them to a contracted employee with the jail. Slater says the employee would then bring the items into the jail during his shift.

The contraband included a small amount of methamphetamine, vapes and nicotine patches.

The 45-year-old inmate later admitted to detectives that he had orchestrated the scheme.

His 40-year-old fiancée and the 26-year-old employee were both arrested earlier this week and released after meeting bail a day later.

Slater says the employee quit before he was arrested.