By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–Authorities have arrested multiple people in connection with a scheme to smuggle methamphetamine into a San Diego County Sheriff’s detention facility through the mail, the Sheriff’s Office announced.
The investigation began Nov. 12, 2025, when deputies at the Sheriff’s Mail Processing Center intercepted three envelopes addressed to an incarcerated person. Inside each envelope were greeting cards later determined to be saturated with methamphetamine, officials said.
The Sheriff’s Detention Investigations Unit launched a criminal investigation and determined the envelopes, though addressed to another inmate, were intended for 33-year-old Kevin Ball. Investigators identified 33-year-old Ajshanee Clariday as the sender of the drug-laced mail.
According to detectives, Clariday and Ball conspired on the names to use on the envelopes, mailing timelines, drug sourcing and payment methods. Clariday ultimately mailed the methamphetamine-soaked cards at Ball’s direction, authorities said.
On Dec. 12, 2025, Sheriff’s detectives arrested Clariday at San Diego County Probation. She was charged with supplying controlled substances to an incarcerated person, bringing controlled substances into a jail and criminal conspiracy.
Further investigation identified 55-year-old Fredrick Perez as an accomplice who allegedly helped supply and prepare the methamphetamine-saturated mail.
On Jan. 27, detectives, assisted by deputies from the Community Policing and Problem-Solving Unit at the Santee Sheriff’s Station, served a search warrant at a residence in the 1000 block of Woodlawn Avenue in Chula Vista. Perez was arrested at the home on charges of supplying controlled substances to an incarcerated person, bringing controlled substances into a jail and criminal conspiracy.
During the same operation, detectives arrested 34-year-old Daniel Gracia at the residence on an outstanding felony warrant from San Diego County. Outside the home, deputies contacted 44-year-old Luis Rios, who was arrested on drug-related charges.
On Jan. 29, Ball, who was already in Sheriff’s custody on an unrelated case, was arrested and charged with supplying controlled substances to an incarcerated person, bringing controlled substances into a jail and criminal conspiracy.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office reminded the public that sending controlled substances into a jail is a felony punishable by up to six years in custody.
Anyone with information about drugs being smuggled into detention facilities is urged to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at www.sdcrimestoppers.org or call (888) 580-8477. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
