Dartmouth Jail Librarian Indicted in Synthetic Marijuana Smuggling Scheme

DARTMOUTH (WBSM) — A New Bedford woman who worked as a librarian at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth has been indicted in what Sheriff Paul Heroux is calling “perhaps the largest alleged employee drug bust in Bristol County jail history.”

According to Heroux, Ginger Hook, 46, of New Bedford, was indicted by a grand jury on October 20 along with four co-conspirators as part of an alleged drug smuggling scheme at the House of Correction involving synthetic marijuana.

How the Investigation Began

Hook was employed by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office as the Coordinator of Library Services. She had been working at the House of Correction for about 18 months prior to resigning from her position in July of this year when confronted about her alleged activity, according to Heroux.

He said the Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit launched an investigation, dubbed “Operation Fish Hook,” in March 2025 into a drug distribution ring that was smuggling synthetic marijuana, also known as K-2 or “spice,” into the facility.

READ MORE: Synthetic Marijuana Smuggling Foiled at Bristol County Jail

Heroux said the investigation revealed that inmate Joseph Housley, 25, of Rehoboth was allegedly responsible for selling thousands of dollars’ worth of K-2 to other inmates on a regular basis, and that he had enlisted the help of two former inmates and another person on the outside to assist. According to Heroux, those men were identified as Brandin Barbosa-Mayo, 31, of New Bedford, Bestlee Vasquez, 33, of Somerset, and Axel Hazard, 23, of Rhode Island.

Inside the Smuggling Scheme: K-2 and Jail Paperwork

Heroux said that several months into the investigation, it was determined that Housley had allegedly enlisted the help of a Sheriff’s Office employee in his scheme, who the SIU identified as Hook. The SIU gathered intelligence that allegedly showed Hook had smuggled in K-2 paperwork into the jail once in late 2024 and again in February and March of 2025.

“Because of their diligent efforts, investigators learned that Mrs. Hook was allegedly going to make another delivery of 13 pages of K-2 to Inmate Housley in early June of this year,” Heroux said. “Upon setting up surveillance on Mrs. Hook in the early morning of June 9, investigators observed Mrs. Hook entering the jail and attempting to conceal paperwork in a folder that she brought into her office from outside of the secure perimeter of the jail.”

READ MORE: New Bedford Man Charged in Dartmouth Jail Cocaine Plot

Heroux said that the investigators searched the folder and found 13 sheets of paper “disguised as ‘Legal Work,’ which they were able to test and found to be infused with alleged synthetic marijuana.” He said the value of the 13 sheets of paper when sold inside the jail was estimated at about $65,000.

Coordinated Multi-Agency Investigation

The investigation was led by Captain Christine Fortin, assisted by other members of the 10-person Special Investigation Unit. The Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District’s Attorney’s Office, as well as the New Bedford Regional Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, also assisted in the investigation.

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“We are pleased to have collaborated with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office through a special prosecutor in the investigation that has led to a number of indictments in this case,” Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said.