Decades-old prison buildings were designed to be secure from the ground but not the air. Experts say that makes a lucrative smuggling trade hard to tackle.

The police chief in Fargo, N.D., acknowledged “missteps” but stopped short of apologizing to Angela Lipps, a Tennessee resident who said she had never been to North Dakota before she was arrested.

© Angela Lipps

Federal prosecutors quietly dropped their case against the officer, but a Police Department investigation based on the charges led to his firing, the suit says.