Philadelphia Woman Sentenced for Conspiring to Smuggle Suboxone Into Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Talia Hicks, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to three years' probation, with one month of home confinement, and forfeiture of approximately $2,900 by United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge, for conspiring to distribute controlled substances.

Hicks was charged with that offense by information and pleaded guilty in March of this year.

As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, from at least December 2019 through November of 2020, Hicks conspired with multiple individuals to smuggle Suboxone into the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility ("CFCF"). At the time of the charged conspiracy, she was working for the Transportation Security Administration at Philadelphia International Airport.

A review of video tablet calls, a recorded form of communication available to inmates at CFCF, showed that a co-conspirator, on various occasions, discussed inmates sending CashApp and Apple payments to both the co-conspirator and Hicks. A review of CashApp and Green Dot records showed that Hicks and the co-conspirator sent and received CashApp payments on behalf of the co-conspirator, from and to various individuals. There were multiple transactions for which Hicks either facilitated the payment for Suboxone or provided the drugs to a co-conspirator to smuggle the substance into CFCF.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Grenell.