GA Brothers' Plot To Fly Drone Into Prison Lands Them Behind Bars

GEORGIA — Two brothers are behind bars after their scheme to use a drone to smuggle tobacco and cell phones into a Georgia prison was scuttled by sheriff’s deputies and the feds.

George Lo, 27, of Powder Springs and Nicholas Lo, 25, of Dallas, Georgia, were both sentenced to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges related to illegally operating a drone, according to a statement Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. also ordered each man to serve one year of supervised release after the completion of their prison terms.

In the process, the Lo brothers set precedents: Both are among the first to be sentenced under federal law regulating non-passenger aircraft, and Nicholas Lo is believed to be the first ever to be punished in the U.S. for illegally piloting a drone for pay.

According to court documents and testimony, George Lo was serving a sentence for armed robbery in Telfair State Prison when he started plotting with his brother Nicholas and others to fly a Storm Drone 4 without registration or licensing. The plan was to deliver contraband to the prison that George Lo could sell to fellow inmates.

In the wee hours of Aug. 26, 2019, Telfair County Sheriff’s deputies caught Nicholas Lo and Cheikh Hassan Toure, 24, of Austell, in the woods near the prison with a duffel bag containing the drone and accessories. The two men were also carrying 14 cell phones, at least 74 grams of tobacco, a digital scale and earbuds. Both men were taken into custody. Toure has since pleaded guilty to drone-related charges but has not been sentenced.

“For as long as there have been prisons, inmates and their allies have attempted to circumvent security measures to introduce contraband inside the walls,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David Estes. “In recent years, the increasing use of remotely operated aircraft has added complexity to this challenge, but in coordination with our law enforcement partners we will continue to work to maintain secure incarceration facilities.”

Read the statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.