A corrections officer at the Covington County Jail has been fired after he was caught allegedly bringing in loose-leaf tobacco and cigarette lighters to inmates.

Sheriff Dennis Meeks said Tuesday, Daniel Whitt, 25, was terminated last Thursday following a late night surveillance mission.

“We had been receiving information for a couple of weeks about contraband getting into the jail,” Meeks said. “So Thursday night, we set up surveillance, and (Whitt) was seen going to his vehicle, getting something out and putting it into his pants pocket.

Meeks said a “large sealed plastic bag filled with loose leaf tobacco, two different kinds of rolling papers and two cigarette lighters” were recovered.

Whitt, who had been employed at the county jail for only three months, was immediately terminated.

“It’s our job to arrest people for crimes – regardless of who they are or who they work for,” Meeks said.

Whitt was charged with promoting prison contraband, booked into the Covington County Jail and released on a $3,000 bond.