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Investigations

Date

Former Inmate Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Misuse UAS to Distribute Marijuana and Other Contraband at State Prison

On April 28, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, John Travis Ross pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. In July 2021, Ross was indicted on charges related to use of an unmanned aircraft system, or drone, to smuggle controlled substances and contraband into a State correctional facility in Rankin County, Mississippi. Ross was a prior inmate at the facility and was on parole at the time the violations occurred.

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with assistance from Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Federal Aviation Administration’s Law Enforcement Assistance Program.