Drones Delivered Prison Phones in Ga. Lottery Winner's Meth Ring: Documents

WAYCROSS, GA — A methamphetamine ring financed by a Georgia lottery winner used drones to deliver cellphones to inmates in prison and other tricks, court documents have revealed.

The documents were unsealed Wednesday, after other suspects allegedly involved in the ring were arrested, the Florida Times-Union out of Jacksonville reported.

Ronnie Music Jr., 45, of Waycross, pleaded guilty in July to federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.

Last year, Music won $3 million in a Georgia Lottery scratch-off game.

He admitted to using a large chunk of his winnings to bankroll a meth operation, looking to buy and sell the drug for a profit.

According to an investigation by federal, state and local authorities, Music and others were caught in September of last year trying to sell about 11 pounds of crystal meth, with a street value in excess of $500,000.

An indictment of seven of Music's alleged co-conspirators said inmates in a Georgia prison used cellphones smuggled in by drones to run an operation dealing meth in Glynn, Ware and Wayne counties, the Times-Union reported.

Prosecutors, according to the paper, said that two drones used in the conspiracy have been seized at Calhoun State Prison in Forsyth.

Pre-paid Green Dot cards and Western Union were used to transfer money in and out of the prison, so inmates and conspirators working on the outside could both profit, the report said.

Music has not yet been sentenced in the case.

Image via Georgia Lottery Corp.