First responders say a total of 12 people in local halfway houses and jails had to be treated for suspected drug overdoses between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.
Columbus fire officials say paramedics responded to the Franklin County Work Release Center on Jackson Pike on Sunday afternoon for a report of five people overdosing around the same time.
A fire battalion chief says four of the people who overdosed were treated at local hospitals, while a fifth refused treatment.
Officials say the overdoses appeared to have been caused by opiates, but that hadn't been confirmed.
Early Monday morning, seven women inmates at the Fayette County Jail needed medical treatment for apparent opiate overdoses.
The sheriff's office couldn't confirm how drugs might have ended up in the facility, but officials at the jail say they've had a big problem with drugs being brought into the jail in body cavities.
