COLOMBIA, SC (WCSC) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the largest number of people indicted in a drug conspiracy in the state’s history on Monday.
Wilson said the South Carolina State Grand Jury has issued more charges in the case of drug trafficking known as the “Prison Empire”, making it now the largest number of defendants for a single narcotics conspiracy investigation ever indicted in the United States. South Carolina courts.
The charges in “Império Prisional” collectively contain 487 charges alleged within 297 counts against 100 defendants.
So far, the investigation has seized about 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, 5 kilograms of heroin and 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, in addition to 82 firearms. The investigation revealed that this ongoing drug trafficking conspiracy was responsible for more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine trafficked across the state of South Carolina.
“Obviously, you have a lot of trafficking cases, a smuggling of meth, heroin, cocaine, distribution of controlled substances, you have robbery, kidnapping, possession cases, conspiracy, assault and battery, and that goes on indefinitely,” Wilson said. “There are almost 20 crimes listed here that were involved in this grand jury case at Empire State prison. Enough is enough.
Wilson said two prisoners arrested for bail hearings had cell phones and methamphetamine in their possession. He said the case shows the need for a change in federal regulations that would allow the state of South Carolina to implement technology to block cellphone signals smuggled into prisons.
“Until we can lock these cell phones, we will not be able to effectively stem the wave of drugs that is arriving in South Carolina. It’s not just the drugs, it’s all the other crimes that come along,” said Wilson. “They can do a lot to keep people behind physical walls, but until we have this virtual law in the state, we really won’t be safe from this type of activity.”
“This is yet another tragic example of the damage that illegal cell phones cause to prisoners,” said SCDC director Bryan Stirling. “The public would be safer if we could block cell phone signals. It is past time for Congress to act and allow states to block cell phone signals inside prisons. We need a hearing on this important issue of public security. “
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