Lt. James D’Amico has been working at the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office for more than 20 years and what happened this past February was something he never experienced before.

While going through inmate mail, his K9 partner indicated it may have contraband on a letter. It was taken to the sergeant’s office to be photographed.

"In between taking pictures of these pages that appeared to be like sandpaper, I'm sure somehow, some way particles flaked off the paper and we obviously inhaled them," D'Amico said.

Despite wearing PPE and taking precautions, D’Amico and the K9's handler were exposed to fentanyl.

"I got dizzy. The room started spinning," said D'Amico.

They both were administered naloxone and were OK, but the situation shows the dangers faced by law enforcement members working in jails as well as the dangers that could face inmates.

Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol said there are many ways people try to get contraband inside correctional facilities.

"It's typically not sent into correctional facilities to cause harm to the person opening it. That's not its intent. It's either for consumption by the recipient or sale by the recipient within, inside the facility," Maciol said.

In Oneida County, they make copies of mail to provide to the inmates, and rely on dogs and machines to help inspect mail, with the exception of legal mail, which must be opened in front of the inmate.

Workers were recently trained on a new screening machine that would sound an alarm if it found something of concern.

"Any narcotic substances, any man-made substances, any explosives, it'll even pick up on explosive type materials," said Maciol.

Of course, these thorough screenings mean it often takes more time for mail to make its way to its recipient, but it’s for safety, Maciol said.

"We can't take any chances," he said. "Narcan works, but it's not 100%. So it doesn't always work. And the last thing we want to have is have one of our staff members or correction officers or inmates exposed to fentanyl and then die because of that.”

Maciol said authorities investigate each time contraband is caught in the mail.

"I was happy that we're taking precautions for everyone's safety and health to where this won't happen again," said D'Amico.