On Tuesday, prison officials at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester said that a drone carrying mobile phones, drugs, hacksaw blades, and other materials, crashed inside the prison walls before inmates could get their hands on the contraband.
According to Reuters, the drone lost control when it clipped razor wires on the prison walls before it crashed into the prison. Officials believe it was the first attempt at using a drone to smuggle contraband into a prison in the state.
The drone was carrying a mobile phone, a mobile phone battery, two hacksaw blades, two packages of cigarettes, a bag of heroin weighing less than one gram, a 0.8 ounce bag of methamphetamine, a hands-free device, super glue, two packs of cigars, and a 5.3-ounce bag of marijuana.
“I applaud and commend the quick action and diligence on the part of the staff who noticed the UAV that entered the prison grounds,” said Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton.
There have been similar attempts to smuggle contraband into a prison using drones in other states.
In August, a drone successfully dropped a package of heroin, marijuana and tobacco in the recreation yard of an Ohio prison. It sparked a fight among inmates who were trying to pick up the contraband.
Last year, a drone was used to try to smuggle phones and drugs into a prison in South Carolina, but it crashed outside the prison walls.
The drone that crashed in the Oklahoma prison has been turned over to the Department of Correction’s Office of the Inspector General for further investigation.
