You’ve probably heard of the clichés of how people would smuggle things into prisons, with the most famous being the file hidden inside the cake. However, today’s prisoners are more in touch with technology, and they use radio controlled models to smuggle goods into prisons.
A radio controlled helicopter was used recently to smuggle drugs into prison, it is believed.
This isn’t some plot from the latest series of Prison Break, nor is it something from a maximum security prison in the USA. This story comes from the Elmley Prison, in Kent.
Guards at the prison noticed an RC helicopter flying over the wall and plotting a course for the accommodation blocks. The radio controlled intruder was seen on CCTV, carrying a load under its fuselage. Guards believe that the package contained drugs.
According to the Sun, a prison guard commented:
Using a mini-helicopter to get contraband into jails is unprecedented. When officers spotted it they nearly fell off their chairs.
It could have been drugs or a mobile phone in the package. It is possible it was a dummy run.
HMP service has confirmed that an incident involving what appeared to be a radio controlled helicopter did indeed occur. A spokesman said:
As a result of this, a search of the prison grounds and an accommodation block were carried out and nothing was found.