The Huntsville Item, Texas
HOUSTON — Nine people were arrested this week across Houston, San Antonio and East Texas on charges of organized criminal activity and money laundering in connection with a large-scale smuggling operation that used drones and other methods to introduce contraband into a Texas Department of Criminal Justice unit throughout 2025, officials announced.
The Texas Board of Criminal Justice’s Office of Inspector General led the investigation in partnership with state, local and federal law enforcement. Among those arrested was a former TDCJ correctional officer.
The operation targeted the Memorial Unit — formerly known as the Darrington Unit — a maximum-security men’s facility in Brazoria County, about 90 miles south of Huntsville. While the unit itself is not in Walker County, the investigation was led by the OIG, which operates under the Texas Board of Criminal Justice and is headquartered in Huntsville. TDCJ, which employs thousands of Walker County residents across its nine units in and around Huntsville, has made contraband interdiction a statewide priority.
“Across the country, departments of corrections are fighting tirelessly to stop contraband from entering their facilities. Texas is no different,” said TDCJ Executive Director Bobby Lumpkin. “We are strengthening our ability to detect illegal activity, investing in treatment and recovery programs to reduce the demand for illegal narcotics, and working with OIG and the Special Prosecutor Unit to bring those involved to justice.”
The nine suspects charged are: Jose Pena, currently on parole for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, booked into Montgomery County Jail; Anesha Reed-Roberts, a former correctional officer, booked into Brazoria County Jail; Maria Pena, booked into Brazoria County Jail; Josielynn Carpio, booked into Bexar County Jail; Juliet Janice, booked into Orange County Jail; Amber Morillon, booked into Brazoria County Jail; Jennifer Rivera, booked into Bexar County Jail; Amelia Enriquez, booked into Bexar County Jail; and Maritza Robles, booked into Nueces County Jail.
Inspector General Lance Coleman said the arrests are part of a broader crackdown. “We have heightened efforts to deter, detect and disrupt the flow of contraband and illegal narcotics from entering TDCJ facilities,” Coleman said. “We will not tolerate these criminal networks and bad actors profiting off the lives of those in our custody.”
Assisting agencies included the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Violent Offender and Fugitive Task Force and Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Conroe Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Port Arthur Police Department and the Orange Police Department.
Drone use to deliver contraband into Texas prisons has grown significantly in recent years. TDCJ has responded by installing anti-drone technology at select facilities and increasing coordination with the OIG, which has prosecutorial authority over crimes committed on or against TDCJ property statewide.
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