Prison officials in New South Wales, Australia stopped a drone from carrying over $100,000 worth of drugs into a maximum-security prison during a car search on July 27th. The drone was found with a bundle of string and a package containing the drugs.
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The Modern Rogue team took a look at the custom 12-gauge shotgun shells filled with a net designed to take down rogue drones flying over a prison. The video shows the solution working – and failing – at the exact same time.
Two men from New Jersey have been charged by the United States Department of Justice for using drones to smuggle drugs, cell phones, and other contraband into a federal prison in Burlington county.
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Drones have a history of entering and dropping off goods into prisons with various drops being captured on camera. Christmas Day for prisoners in Queensland’s Capricornia Correctional Centre was an extra special due to a rogue drone dropping off two packages, sending the prison into lockdown for the majority of the day.
In the UK, a man from Walton used a drone to fly drugs into a prison facility. However, the drone crashed and the man was arrested. He has now been sentenced and ends up in jail himself for five years. This is not the first time that drones were used to fly contraband into a prison facility.
A drone tried to capture footage of Bill Cosby in prison. This incident happened last week but only made the news today. As Bill Cosby was escorted around the prison yard a drone flew over the State Correctional Institute Phoenix in Collegeville, Pa. to try and capture photos or video footage. In the past, we have seen multiple cases of drones flying over prisons, but mostly that was done to deliver contraband. Not to take photos or video of infamous inmates
In a less than genius move, a Scottish gang filmed themselves with the drone, they were going to use to fly drugs into prison. The drone crashed on the prison grounds and was picked up by a guard who found all the incriminating footage, including faces, a house number and a car that belonged to them.
Career-criminal Redoine Faid escaped from Reau Prison located just south of Paris, France, with the help of a heavily armed team. This team arrived by helicopter and broke Faid out using brute force. Just months before his escape, drones were spotted flying above the prison which are now believed to be linked to the breakout.
With the potential of drones growing every day, more and more uses are found for them to complete tasks more efficiently. A couple in Riverside County, California abused the use of their drone as they delivered drugs to clients in a parking lot from their own house. The man and woman have since been arrested and are both facing jail time as a result of their actions.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Tuesday that flying over federal prisons and Coast Guard bases would be forbidden. The flight restrictions will go into effect just under two weeks from now on July 7th. The FAA is authorized to do so under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) §99.7 – “Special Security Instructions” – to address concerns about drone operations over national security sensitive facilities by establishing temporary Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) specific flight restrictions. Federal security partners and prison officials requested the restrictions. The concern at hand is prisoners receiving drugs, weapons and other contraband using drones and even escaping from prison. Other concerns are attempted terrorist attacks on federal facilities.
Only three days ago did we report on the latest case in which a drone was used to allegedly deliver contraband to a prison. Today we learn that there have been 138 cases of drone sightings at Georgia state prisons since last July. It should come as no surprise now that the Department of Corrections is currently testing drone detection systems.
Police have discovered a drone with a package containing contraband on the roof of an Ahuntsic elementary school in Montreal, Canada. The unmanned aerial device was found with a package containing marijuana, tobacco, cell phones, SIM cards, lighters and glue. The package was attached to the drone with a cord.
In England, ten people, all from the West Midlands, have been charged with using drones on a large scale to smuggle drugs and phones into prisons. The eight men and two women have been charged with three counts of conspiracy to supply drugs, psychoactive substances and banned items.
A gang in England who used a drone equipped with fishing lines to smuggle £370,000 ($495,000 USD) worth of contraband including drugs, phones, and a Freeview box into prisons are jailed for 28 years. In total, the gang had carried out nearly 50 drone flights and ‘throw-overs’ into British jails. Among the items they delivered was drugs but also tools, phones and a TV box. Their drone deliveries came to an end after prison officers found a package containing cocaine. the eight gang members face prison time of more than 24 years.
AZ Central reported that a drone attempting to deliver phones and drugs to inmates in the Buckeye prison in Arizona crashed in a yard only accessible to corrections officers. The Arizona Department of Corrections said on Thursday, that they are investigating the incident to determine who was behind the attempted contraband delivery by drone. According to corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder, this is the first known drone incident at an Arizona state prison. We have seen similarly attempted drone deliveries in Michigan, Louisiana, and Texas but also abroad in Australia, and Great Britain.
Australian newspaper ABC News reported that a drone has been caught on CCTV dropping what seems to be contraband into Lithgow’s prison in NSW. Last Monday a member of the public alerted the prison staff to the drone flying in the vicinity of the Lithgow Correctional Centre.
The Liverpool Echo reported that a man was arrested after a foiled drone drugs drop-off at the Walton Prison in Liverpool, England. Prison staff had sighted the drone flying over the prison on Thursday, October 19, around 12:40am with a package hanging below it. Merseyside police officers came out and located a man in a nearby field. The package contained not only drugs but also mobile phones and tobacco. Very similar to the drop-off attempt we reported on earlier in Michigan. The suspect in this case fled but was apprehended in a backyard on Stuart Road North in Bootle. The drone and controller were located in the field. Another package was later found under a van on Stuart Road North. It contained mobile phones, cannabis, and tobacco.
