PORT ALLEN - Four inmates who were found unresponsive in a holding area of the West Baton Rouge Parish Jail likely overdosed on mojo, the sheriff's office said Wednesday. 

Mojo, a synthetic cannabinoid that can be sprayed on a piece of paper and ingested, has been linked to multiple overdoses behind bars. West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office Chief of Criminal Operations Major Kevin Devall said that it's an issue penal facilities across the country are dealing with. 

Devall said that on Tuesday, an inmate in the parish jail's work release program was showing signs of intoxication on the job and was taken back to the detention facility for booking.

Although the inmate was scanned, deputies missed a substance that made its way into the jail, Devall said. 

The inmate was reportedly placed into a holding area, where they removed the suspected mojo from a body cavity and ingested it, along with three other inmates. The four were found unresponsive and rushed to hospitals. 

Devall said that leaders at the sheriff's office have had multiple meetings since the incident Tuesday evening. In those, he says, procedures have been added to "create a more sterile environment."

Tuesday's overdose came two days after 46-year-old Darren Dorman Jr., a federal inmate being housed at the jail, was found dead in his cell. There was no obvious trauma to his body, Devall said. Dorman's cause of death has not been determined yet, and won't be until toxicology results have returned.