Justice Department Charges Drone Ring Smuggling Drugs And Weapons Into Federal Prisons On East Coast

The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges tied to a drone smuggling scheme that prosecutors say used high-tech drones to deliver contraband—including drugs and weapons—to federal prisons on the East Coast of the United States.

“The Justice Department has announced charges in a “sophisticated” criminal operation that it says used high-powered drones to deliver weapons, drugs, cell phones and escape tools into prisons in east coast states”

CNN

US Attorney William Keyes said the case involves “the most sophisticated and sprawling criminal enterprise that uses drones to bring contraband into federal prisons, the Department of Justice has ever charged.”

CNN

Prosecutors said the joint operation with the FBI in Atlanta began at a former daycare center in Macon, Georgia and carried out nightly deliveries of contraband to ten federal prisons.

The 17-page federal indictment states the group used at least six drones to deliver a wide range of contraband to inmates at least 38 times, including methamphetamine, synthetic cannabis, Suboxone, cocaine, mobile phones, tobacco products, drug-infused papers, and blades designed and intended for use as weapons and to aid in escapes.

Prosecutors said inmates used illegal phones to help drone pilots in the outer perimeter, sending real-time maps to enable precise nighttime deliveries.

In the indictment described by CNN, prosecutors said inmates sometimes sent maps in real time to help pilots deliver trash bags and astroturf stuffed with weapons, various narcotics, and cell phones.

mezha.net

The Bureau of Prisons used drone-detection systems that provided investigators with data on manufacturers and models, launch sites, and other parameters, and law enforcement says it tracked the scheme between 2023 and 2026.

William K. Marshall III, Director of the BOP, said in Macon that “Activity of this nature threatens the safety of everyone who lives and works inside our facilities and will not be tolerated.”

On June 10, a grand jury in the Middle District of Georgia returned indictments against twelve defendants accused of running an advanced drone-smuggling scheme into ten federal prisons in Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

“Prosecutors say investigators unraveled a high-tech smuggling scheme using drones to supply federal prisons, but many operational details remain under seal”

mezha.net

The Justice Department said the operation led out of a former daycare in Macon, Georgia as a staging ground where multiple drones were launched on covert missions to deliver contraband by air to the prisons at night.

FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham said drones delivering contraband remains a serious public safety issue for law enforcement, adding that “some state and federal prison-drones smuggling contraband have been so frequent that the facilities look like a small airport in the evening.”

A coalition of 21 state attorneys general launched a multi-state effort earlier this year, and in a letter to the Trump administration they said the Safer Skies Act—signed last December—provides $500 million in FEMA grants, new FBI training programs, and a DHS office focused on countering the threat.