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In late 2018, Diplomats member Juelz Santana received the verdict he’d been dreading: he was sentenced to 27 months in prison. His past actions had come back to bite him badly.

Juelz’s issues began in March 2018, at Newark Liberty International Airport. While passing through security, on his way to San Francisco, he tried to smuggle a loaded firearm inside his hand luggage — but officials found it. Not only that, but they discovered eight oxycodone pills, too.

But rather than hand himself over to face the consequences, Juelz fled. He left the airport in a taxi and went on the run, remaining loose for a couple of days. It was only then that he decided to hand himself in to police.

Juelz was denied bail, but after more than a week in custody, he was released. His mother had posted bail for $500,000, which required her to put up her house. A condition of his release was that he stay in the custody of his mother under house arrest.

While he awaited trial, he was permitted to perform with Dipset as they set about their 2018 reunion tour. But, again, his mother had to be with him the whole time. Hardly the most ideal of touring conditions.

In December 2018, a week before Christmas, Juelz received his sentence: 27 months imprisonment, plus a further year of supervised release. His attempt to smuggle a weapon through an airport had really been a bad idea.

Juelz served his sentence at a medium security facility in Hopewell, Virginia, entering on March 1, 2019. His stay there, in the end, was shorter than what had been expected, as he was allowed to leave eight months early.

On August 5, 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, Juelz was released from prison after 19 months. As a condition of his release, he had to wear an ankle monitor and be under lockdown constantly.

By March 2026, Juelz was back in the public eye as the face of a new campaign for the Supreme clothing brand. He had first become involved with the brand two decades ago, during the height of Dipset’s fame.