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Federal agents arrested Nicolo Denichilo, 38, of Jersey City, on Thursday after learning of a scheduled drop at the Lakehurst facility, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Friday.
Also charged is Adrian Goolcharran, 35, of Union City, who initially was a fugitive and soon after was in custody.
At least seven drone deliveries of contraband were made to inmates dating back to July 2018 , the U.S. attorney said.
Over the course of the investigation, he said, agents seized marijuana, steroids, more than 160 cell phones, 150 SIM cards, 74 cell phone batteries and chargers, 35 syringes and two metal saw blades.
“Goolcharran used cell phones to coordinate the drops with others, including text messaging aerial shots of locations at Fort Dix to better position the drops and to discuss weather conditions,” Carpenito said.
On the same day as a drone drop last April, local police stopped Denichilo and Goolcharran less than five miles from Fort Dix, he said.
Then last week, a surveillance camera captured images of someone fitting Goolcharran’s description and an accomplice carrying and flying a drone from a launch spot in the woods outside the facility, Carpenito said.
Goolcharran brought multiple drones to a store for repairs – among them, the one used in the March 7 flight, he said.
Agents acting on a tip chased Denichilo and an accomplice after seeing a drone fly over a prison housing unit.
They caught Denichilo hiding in a ditch near the launch site, Carpenito said, adding that Fort Dix officials also found an inmate in the area of the drone drop inside the prison with 34 cell phones, nine chargers, 51 SIM cards and other telephone equipment.
Agents also seized an SUV near the launch site that had a drone in the backseat.
Denichilo’s fingerprint was found on a plastic bag recovered from one of the drone drops, while Goolcharran’s DNA was recovered from electrical tape found on a drone used in a July 2018 drop.
A federal magistrate judge in Trenton released Denichilo, and later Goolcharran – also known as “Adrian Ajoda” and “Adrian Ahoda" -- each on $100,000 unsecured bond.
A federal complaint charges both with conspiring to smuggle contraband to defraud the United States and one count of smuggling contraband into the federal prison at Fort Dix.
Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General New Jersey area office, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 307 and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General Northeast Region with the investigation leading to the charges.
He also thanked Federal Bureau of Prisons personnel at Fort Dix, special agents of the FBI, special agents of his office and officers with the Pemberton Borough, Pemberton Township and Chesterfield Township police departments.
Handling the case for the government is Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cari Fais and Jeffrey Manis of Carpenito’s Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
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