Johansel Moronta, Drone Contraband Smuggling, New Jersey 2023
Newark, N.J. – Johansel Moronta, a 29-year-old man from Linden, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 19 months in prison for his role in a scheme to use drones to smuggle contraband, including cell phones and tobacco, into the federal correctional facility at Fort Dix, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Moronta, a former inmate at Fort Dix, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging him with one count of possessing and obtaining contraband while in prison. He also pleaded guilty to violating the terms of his supervised release.
Moronta was an inmate at Fort Dix from April 2018 to March 2019. He participated in multiple drone deliveries of contraband into Fort Dix while incarcerated. The scheme was carried out with the assistance of Jason Arteaga-Loayza, who was sentenced in September 2021 to 43 months in prison.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Arteaga-Loayza arranged for Adrian Goolcharran and Nicolo Denichilo to fly drones over Fort Dix and drop packages of contraband, including cell phones, cell phone accessories, tobacco, weight loss supplements, and eyeglasses, into the prison. Moronta took possession of the contraband and helped sell it to inmates for a profit.
On October 30, 2018, Moronta received a bag dropped by a drone onto the roof of a housing unit at FCI Fort Dix, which contained contraband tobacco, cellphone chargers, and charging cables. Prison officials recovered the bag, which contained 127 bags of Bugler tobacco, 10 cell phone chargers, and 10 USB charging cables. Moronta also admitted to possessing a contraband cell phone on that date, which he had used to coordinate the drone drop.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Moronta to one year of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited agents of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Cyber Investigations Office, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaints issued against the remaining defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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