Inmates used smuggled cellphones to move fentanyl and cocaine into South Carolina

YORK COUNTY, N.C. — Federal authorities have charged 36 people across South Carolina in connection with an international drug trafficking and money laundering scheme managed by inmates using smuggled cellphones.

The illicit network moved fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico into South Carolina, distributing the drugs across the state while operating from behind prison walls.

The investigation exposed how contraband mobile devices inside correctional facilities allow incarcerated criminals to coordinate large-scale criminal enterprise.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, authorities seize as many as 25,000 illegal cellphones inside jails nationwide every year, with nearly 500,000 inmates having access to wireless devices to orchestrate drug trafficking and violent crimes.

Law enforcement agencies across multiple South Carolina counties participated in the joint operation to dismantle the international network.

U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Bryan Stirling emphasized the persistence of criminal activity originating inside state facilities.

“These people are arrested, sent to prison, and continue behind bars,” Stirling said during the announcement.

Stirling detailed how incarcerated ringleaders maintained continuous communication with external suppliers and distributors to maintain the drug flow across international borders.

“They used contraband cell phones to arrange deals with distributors on the outside,” Stirling said. “They would coordinate shipment and delivery of these drugs to organizers in Mexico.”

Local prosecutors noted that illicit cellphones inside prisons have threatened community safety for years. 16th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett highlighted a previous murder-for-hire plot in Fort Mill as an example of the danger posed by incarcerated individuals accessing mobile devices.

In that case, police reported that Jerry Kinard forced his way into a local home, assaulted a woman and attempted to kill her under orders issued by a prisoner using a smuggled phone.

Brackett described how the victim narrowly escaped the violent attack in her home.

“And only because she had a tremendous amount of presence of mind and courage was she able to conjure up a reason to go back down the stairs and then flee out the door and make good her escape,” Brackett said. “Otherwise she’d be dead, and all of that happened and would not have happened if this man in prison had not had access to a cell phone.”

For years, state corrections leaders have petitioned federal regulators to permit cell-jamming technology to block signals inside facility perimeters.

FCC regulations previously prohibited state prisons from deploying jamming equipment. Brackett stated that stopping wireless transmissions remains the most effective strategy for protecting both prison staff and the general public.

“This shuts the cell phones down at the source by preventing the signal from leaving the prison. That’s the best solution, and I think that will yield a much safer South Carolina and a safer prison for the people who work there,” Brackett said.

The newly announced charges follow recent law enforcement actions targeting major drug rings in the state. Last month, prosecutors indicted 25 people in “Operation Duffle Bag Boyz,” an investigation centered in Lancaster and Chester counties that uncovered trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and illegal dogfighting.

Contraband delivery methods extend beyond traditional smuggling routes. In February, officials at a Columbia correctional facility monitored attempts by individuals using airborne drones to drop cellphones and illicit items over facility walls.

Prisons have installed dedicated sensors to alert staff to unauthorized drones entering protected airspace so officers can intercept incoming packages.

The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote next Thursday on whether to allow prisons to deploy cellphone jamming technology. Stirling expressed optimism about the outcome of the vote.

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