Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey issued details about the arrests Saturday.
Grey said detectives from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department were following up on a drug tip when they spotted two suspects involved in the investigation.
The suspects were followed into Saint Mary’s where surveillance assistance was provided by the Auglaize Sheriff’s Department and Saint Mary’s Police Department.
Grey said the law enforcement agencies involved Friday make up the Grand Lake Drug Task Force.
Friday afternoon, the suspects left Saint Mary’s and traveled back into Mercer County where officers observed the vehicle make a traffic violation near Coldwater.
Coldwater police stopped the vehicle on State Road 219.
A police K-9 officer alerted to drugs in the vehicle. Grey said the driver, Alecksa D. Howell, 23, Celina, was in possession of four capsules of suspected heroin.
During the investigation police discovered the passenger, Tommy D. Pruitt, 40, Dayton, had used a lubricant to conceal heroin into his rectum. Police found the lubricant container in the vehicle.
Howell and Pruitt were taken to the Mercer County Jail on drug possession charges.
Grey said Pruitt was told if he was concealing drugs he could face additional charges. Pruitt denied having any drugs and was booked into the jail but isolated from other inmates, according to police.
Investigators eventually executed a cavity search warrant and escorted Pruitt to the Mercer Health Center where a doctor conducted a search.
Grey said a doctor found three bags of drugs inside Pruitt’s anal cavity. Grey said investigators believed the drugs to be heroin and methamphetamines.
Grey said the weight of the drug amounted to 17.5 grams and have a street value of $1,750.
Pruitt has been initially charged with possession of drugs. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
Howell, the driver, was initially charged with possession of drugs and driving under suspension.
The incident is under investigation.
