Drone Used to Drop Heroin, Marijuana, Tobacco Into Prison Yard, Sparking Inmate Chaos

Drones are being used to deliver tobacco, drugs and phones to inmates in South Carolina. The results were chaotic.

CNet reported that a drone crashed outside the prison walls of Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina. The drone was reportedly carrying drugs, tobacco and phones. In January 2015, a drone also crashed into a shopping center in Tijuana, Mexico, allegedly bringing three kilograms of methamphetamine. The latest drone carried drugs at the Mansfield Correctional Institute in Ohio.

Mansfield News Journal cited that on July 27, 2015 at 2:33 p.m., a drone flew above the prison and dropped a package containing 65.4 grams of marijuana, 144.5 grams of tobacco and 6.6 grams of heroin. Immediately, a fight erupted among nine inmates, as they tried to take possession over the contraband. Others gathered to witness what was happening. The crowd had to be pacified with the use of pepper spray.

All inmates, consisting of 130 people in the south recreation area and 75 more in the north recreation area, were removed from the yards and brought to the gyms. They were all stripped, searched and asked to go through the cell sensors and clinic checked. The nine inmates who fought were placed in solitary confinement. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction stated that there were no staff or inmates injured from the incident.

Based on the same Mansfield New Journal report, the drone was dropping off a package for a particular inmate, which was picked up on the north recreation yard. The fight started and the package was thrown over the fence to the south recreation yard. It was still unconfirmed whether the incident was gang-related. The cameras were able to trace the drone before it dropped the package and before the fight started, but there were no news whether the controller was identified.

The previous drug-dropping drone incident in South Carolina involved a maximum security prison, although the attempt was a failure. Several other incidents involving the same method were reported in Georgia and even in Australia. Criminals are becoming more resourceful and creative in acquiring contraband behind bars, which would compel prison guards to pay more attention and observe for the usual signs like an unidentified hovering object or buzzing noise in the air. In the past, smuggled cell phones were merely tossed over the prison wall, which were subsequently used by inmates to organize violence inside.

Even in states that already legalized marijuana, smuggling the drug into prison is still illegal.