# Drones Smuggled Drugs, Phones into Prisons from “The Lab,” a Former Daycare

> A federal indictment unsealed June 24 charges 12 individuals in what prosecutors describe as the largest coordinated drone-smuggling prosecution to date, alleging they used six drones to drop contraba…

**Published**: 2026-06-26
**Source**: https://gps.press/gps-news/drones-smuggled-drugs-phones-into-prisons-from-the-lab-a-former-daycare/
**Author**: Georgia Prisoners' Speak

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A federal indictment unsealed June 24 charges 12 individuals in what prosecutors describe as the largest coordinated drone-smuggling prosecution to date, alleging they used six drones to drop contraband including methamphetamine, cell phones, and saw blades into ten federal prisons across eight states. The conspiracy, which ran from September 2023 to May 2026, targeted two Georgia facilities: FCI Atlanta and FCI Jesup. According to the indictment, lead defendant Ira Christopher Jackson operated from a former Macon daycare dubbed "The Lab," where drones were stored and activated before drops. Eight of the 12 defendants are from Macon, Georgia, and three are current or former inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.