A Florida man has been charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl after allegedly using drones to smuggle the drug and contraband cellphones into multiple federal prisons.
James Key III reportedly coordinated with inmates between December 2024 and August 2025 to introduce the substances into correctional facilities in California, Florida and South Carolina. Court documents state that fentanyl was packed into paper bundles, wrapped in synthetic grass and loaded onto drones before being flown over prison grounds.
If convicted, Key faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The case highlights the increasing use of drones in drug and contraband smuggling operations, particularly into secure facilities where traditional methods of smuggling are heavily monitored. Authorities have documented incidents across the United States where drones have been deployed to deliver narcotics, weapons and phones to inmates.
Federal authorities have increasingly flagged drone-based contraband delivery as a growing threat to correctional security. In one recent case, two Georgia residents and a federal inmate were sentenced after a drone equipped with a “skyhook” crashed in the yard of a prison in South Carolina, delivering approximately 38 grams of methamphetamine. One conspirator alone received more than nine additional years added to his sentence.
Additionally, in California, a sentenced inmate used contraband cellphones to coordinate multiple drone deliveries of methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and other items into Pleasant Valley State Prison between mid-2021 and late 2021.
The Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies continue to warn that fentanyl remains one of the most dangerous narcotics entering U.S. prisons, with smugglers increasingly relying on drones to avoid detection.
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