A man from Maumee, Ohio, has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for mailing books soaked with illegal drugs to inmates at a local prison. Austin Siebert, 30, received a sentence of 140 months from U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent after pleading guilty in August to charges including being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Siebert’s prior convictions include aggravated trafficking in drugs in 2018 and robbery in 2021. In addition to his prison term, he was ordered to serve four years of supervised release following his incarceration. The sentence was imposed on November 18.
According to court documents, officials at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Lorain County discovered that Siebert had been regularly communicating with several inmates and sending them books by mail. Investigators seized suspicious packages containing books and sent them for forensic analysis. The lab confirmed the presence of synthetic cannabinoids such as 5-Fluoro-ADB and MDMB-4en-PINACA on the book pages.
Following this discovery, federal agents executed a search warrant at Siebert’s home in Maumee. There they found a paperback book suspected of being soaked with narcotics, a loaded Bersa Thunder .380 semiautomatic pistol, several bags containing suspected drugs in pill and powder form, a book binding machine, and package mailing labels.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with assistance from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and staff at Grafton Correctional Institution.
Assistant United States Attorney Segev Phillips prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
