The girlfriend of a north Mississippi prisoner has been taken into custody for sneaking drugs into the Tunica County Detention Center as a birthday present for the inmate.
In what the Tunica County Sheriff’s Office is calling “Operation Happy Birthday,” 45-year-old Tunika Cooper was arrested on Wednesday for bringing illicit substances to an inmate in the local jail.
The drug contraband brought to the detention facility was intercepted on Monday — the birthday of the alleged partner of Cooper, Quinterrance Vardaman — an inmate being held at the center.
DeSoto County deputies and Tunica County drug investigators executed a warrant for Cooper’s arrest just two days later. She is charged with felony furnishing contraband to a prisoner.
The charge against Cooper carries a mandatory seven-year sentence with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. More charges may be filed at the conclusion of the ongoing investigation into this case.
