Cell phone, shanks and a tattoo gun among items found during Merced Main Jail search

Homemade weapons, drugs, and an improvised tattoo gun were among the contraband items discovered during a multi-agency search conducted at the Merced County Main Jail on Thursday.

Such searches by law enforcement are important because those weapons can pose a danger to correctional officers and inmates.

The search yielded a cellphone, three large metal stabbing instruments commonly referred to as “shanks,” a plastic shank, a jail made tattoo gun, a handcuff key, methamphetamine and tobacco, according to a Merced County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The operation led to six inmates being charged with additional crimes, the sheriff’s office said.

Agencies involved in the search included Merced County Sheriff’s Office Supervised Release Team, the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team, Special Weapons and Tactics Team, Classification Bureau, Detectives Bureau, Merced County Probation Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team.