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Investigations

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Former Inmate Sentenced for Using Drones To Smuggle Contraband Into Fort Dix

On September 14, 2021, the U.S. District Court for New Jersey sentenced Jason Arteaga-Loayza, a former inmate at Fort Dix, a Federal prison, to 37 months of incarceration, 36 months of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment. Arteaga-Loayza was also sentenced to an additional 6 months of incarceration and 24 months of supervised release for violating the terms of an earlier supervised release.
 
On April 20, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey charged Arteaga-Loayza with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and possession of heroin and fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Between approximately October 2018 and June 2019, the former inmate arranged for drones to drop packages of contraband into Fort Dix, where the contraband was then sold to inmates. Arteaga-Loayza pleaded guilty to all the charges, including violating the terms of the previous release.
 
DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with the Department of Justice OIG and U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.