Investigations

On April 28, 2021, Cheikh Hassane Toure pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to attempting to serve as an airman of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) without obtaining an airman's certificate. In October 2020, Toure was indicted by a Federal grand jury. On August 26, 2019, Toure, along with another defendant, intended to use a UAS to deliver contraband—including 14 cellular telephones—to George Lo, an inmate at Telfair State Prison in Georgia. In Toure’s signed plea agreement, Toure admitted to not having the required FAA airman's certificate to operate a UAS.

 

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with the Georgia Department of Corrections-Office of Professional Standards, with assistance from FAA's Law Enforcement Assistance Program.