A routine pat-down search during the booking process at El Paso County Jail turned south when a woman was allegedly found with methamphetamine.

On Monday, 34-year-old Shandra Rathke was booked into the jail following a bond revocation related to a controlled substance possession charge.

During booking, Rathke had the chance to surrender any contraband before entering the jail, which she did not.

Deputy Barrow escorted Rathke into the jail and supervised her booking process. During the required pat-down search, Barrow said Rathke behaved “evasively,” and tried to conceal her right arm.

Rathke then attempted to place an unknown object in her mouth, prompting Barrow to restrain her before she could ingest the item, which was a plastic bag later confirmed to contain 2.64 grams of methamphetamine.

Rathke was charged with the introduction of contraband and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

According to court records obtained by The Gazette, Rathke is not the only recent individual booked into the El Paso County Jail to allegedly try to smuggle drugs in. Thomas Rosado, 37, was found sleeping in the laundry room of an apartment complex of which he was not a resident, on Dec. 22. Police say he was wanted on an outstanding warrant and was arrested. At the jail Thomas did not disclose any contraband, but during a strip search a baggie containing a substance that the sheriff’s office says tested positive for methamphetamine, fell off of his person.

“As we enter the New Year, I want to make it absolutely clear: if you bring dangerous contraband into my jail, you will be held accountable,”  Sheriff Joseph Roybal stated in a news release Tuesday. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting this facility and all those within it.”