Clermont County's newly sworn-in sheriff, Christopher Stratton, is adding a K9 unit to the county's jail to better monitor and prevent the trafficking of drugs and contraband after an inmate allegedly attempted to smuggle drugs into the jail through a work detail at the county's animal shelter. Four people are facing criminal charges after officials accused them of plotting to smuggle drugs to jail inmates. The Clermont County Sheriffs Office said on Dec. 23 the investigative unit was contacted by corrections staff at the Clermont County Jail about inmates "possibly being impaired.Detectives say they spoke to jail staff who oversaw a group of inmates assigned to work off-site at the Clermont County Animal Shelter. They then launched an investigation and interviewed multiple inmates on that work site.Through the investigation, detectives say they learned that Vanessa Tudor and Samantha Cartwright, both inmates at the jail, were speaking to family members and allegedly plotted to have drugs delivered to the animal shelter for them to retrieve while on their work assignment Dec. 17.The incident drew outrage from concerned residents. From my viewpoint, there wasnt proper supervision," said Clermont County resident Tracey McCullough of the county jail's Trustee Program.Jody Miller, another county resident, said she worried that the shelter's animals could've ingested the drugs dropped at the shelter. Inmates in the program work throughout the county, both inside and outside the jail. Officials say at any given time there are about 40 inmates that participate.You have one inmate that was working that detail," Clermont County jail administrator Major B.J. Boerger told WCPO. "That made a bad choice, that unfortunately brought these other things into question.WCPO looked into the program and found it was started over 30 years ago and in 2024 alone 402 inmates participated. According to records shared with WCPO, there were no attempted escapes from program participants in the last year. The only reported incident involving contraband was this recent December drug bust.We have the body scanner that was very expensive to get a few years, and we use that on every inmate that comes in," Boerger said. But in addition, Sheriff Stratton, one of his first initiatives, is to he has created a K9 program here at the jail. The jail has purchased a narcotics detection K9. The first of more than one throughout the year.