Multiple news outlets, including Fox10 Phoenix, and ABC13 Houston, along with the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office are reporting the surrender of two suspects who are accused of being part of a large-scale drone prison delivery network to smuggle narcotics and other contraband into federal prisons.

On Tuesday afternoon, the two suspects surrendered themselves to the Harris County Jail in Houston. Noah Stegall, aged 22, and Keierra Hunter, aged 20, are currently facing charges in Grant Parish, Louisiana.

The Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office uncovered this scheme approximately three weeks ago during a traffic stop near the federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana. As per Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain, deputies discovered items including $1.18 million worth of K2-soaked paper, $10,000 worth of Suboxone, $4,000 worth of THC wax, and $1,500 worth of marijuana. Additionally, they came across two drones, numerous drone batteries, eight cell phones, a vacuum sealer, and a scale.

Sheriff McCain disclosed a text message containing a highly detailed list of items slated for delivery at a specific prison facility. This list demonstrated the precision with which the scheme was planned, with specific instructions for each location. The pair had instructions for seven prison facilities.

Sheriff McCain continued, “What you see that looks like a pistol in front of me is actually 185 sheets of paper that have been soaked in K2. K2 is a hallucinogenic. You tear each piece of paper into 16 strips, and each strip costs $400,” the sheriff explains, and he says they also found 8 cell phones, 2 drones, and soda cans in the vehicle. These were filled with drugs. This drone has an actuator on there that the operator pushes a button on the remote control and releases the package.”

During the press conference, the recently passed and enacted law- Louisiana House Bill No. 237 was referenced by Louisiana House of Representatives – District 22- State Representative Gabe Firment. The bill became law on August 1, 2023, and addresses the introduction, attempted introduction, or possession of contraband into correctional facilities in Louisiana.

To view the press conference in its entirety, please visit Prison Contraband Seizure Press Conference 9/14/2023.

See Also-

Corrections Counter-UAS Resource Page

Post Image – Grant Parish Sheriff McCain demonstrates how the drone delivery mechanism functions (Image Credit: Grant Parish Sheriff Facebook Video)