Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #591

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Drone Repair Shop Owner Arrested, Accused of Helping Gangs Smuggle Contraband Into Jails
By WSBTV.com News Staff
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Agents have uncovered what they believe to be the largest crimi- nal operation of its kind in Georgia history that brought ecstasy, meth, guns, cell phones and more into Georgia prisons.
A Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) special agent says “Operation Skyhawk” culmi- nated Thursday with raids target-
ing one of many networks at the center of the investigation.
Those networks include one involving a busi- ness called Thunder Drones in Gwinnett County and drone drops of drugs, cell- phones, and more into Georgia prisons.
Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne was at Thunder Drones when employees were arrested in connection with “Operation
Skyhawk.”
GDC Commissioner Tyrone Oliver says corrections agents thundered into Thunder Drones armed with a search warrant and arrest warrants for Robert Schwartz involv- ing drone drops of contraband into Georgia pris- ons.
He says they seized more than 50 drones in two simultaneous raids, and if the allegations prove true in court, he anticipates Schwartz will be dropped into
prison for an extended stay. “This will be the largest gang RICO case in the history of the state of Georgia and it originated by the men and women here at the Georgia Department of Corrections,” Oliver said.
Oliver says pros- ecutors are work- ing with GDC special agents to ask grand juries across the state to return RICO and gang indict- ments against Schwartz and many others.
“If you face gang and/or RICO charges, what’s your response?” Winne asked as agents took him away in hand- cuffs.
“All I do is repair drones. I’ve been doing, I’ve been repairing radio- controlled things for 50 years. I don’t know what they’re even here for,” Schwartz replied.
“Have you bro- ken the law?” Winne asked. “No sir,”
Schwartz replied.
GDC Special Agent Gregg Phillips says the investigation which started in November 2022 led to the recov- ery of lots of drugs, including 51 pounds of what appeared to be ecstasy.
But while they are not lab-tested yet, Phillips says he believes many of the pills con- tained deadly fentanyl.
He says take- downs outside prisons during the investigation “Operation Skyhawk” yielded 22 guns he believes were intended for security for the drone operations and 273 cell- phones, recov- ered before they made it into pris- ons.
“We stopped roughly 170 prison drops dur- ing the course of the investigation,” Phillips said. “We’ve arrested 146 individuals associated with contraband drops. Out of
those, eight of them are correc- tional officers, or were.”
Oliver said Thunder Drones employee Nelda Alber was also arrested on charges related to drone drops of contraband and inmate communi- cations.
The second raid agents made was on Schwartz’s home.
“We did electron- ic interceptions on Mr. Robert Schwartz, his business here Thunder Drones, and inmates and associates of inmates,” Phillips said.
GDC Office of Professional Standards Director Matt Wolfe said that while they were there, two men pulled into Thunder Drones parking lot and then tried to leave.
A search of their car turned up a stolen gun and one person was arrested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l93qdR5XbzQ
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine