Prisoners Using Drones to Smuggle Contraband

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/prisoners-using-drones-smuggle-contraband-1408374489

Defying conventional smuggling techniques, drone operators around the world are using a new method to sneak drugs, tobacco, cell phones, and other contraband into prisons. Capable of flying great distances, drones stashed with illicit packages can easily bypass prison walls to complete their deliveries. Many guards complain that they lack the proper ammunition to shoot down the drones.

The most recent drone was discovered on July 21, 2014, at a prison in Thailand. After receiving a tip-off about smuggling, guards at the Khao Bin prison reviewed surveillance footage and discovered a drone snagged on a tree branch inside the compound. The DJI Phantom drone they found was a quadcopter equipped with a GoPro video camera and a Wi-Fi signal range extender. Taped to the drone were two Nokia cell phones, two Bluetooth devices, four SIM cards, an integrated circuit and a pair of earphones. The drone operator escaped and is still at large.

On April 21, 2014, guards at Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina discovered a drone while conducting a routine perimeter check outside the prison. Officials believe the downed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed into the prison’s 12-foot-tall razor wire fence and landed in the bushes. The drone had been carrying marijuana, cell phones, tobacco, and synthetic marijuana.

Police arrested Brenton Lee Doyle on June 12 for attempting to smuggle contraband into the prison. He was also charged with possession of the drug flunitrazepam, also known as roofies. Investigators are also searching for a second suspect who was caught on camera purchasing some of the smuggled items. Doyle refuses to cooperate with their investigation.

In 2010, Corrections Capt. Robert Johnson was shot six times at his home after an inmate acquired a smuggled cell phone and placed a contract on him. Capt. Johnson survived the attacked and has retired from Lee Correctional Institution.

[Sherman A1]

1. Interesting

one suspects that we will see prisons covered in netting in the not too distant future or some other anti-drone response requiring huge contracts to some private contractors.