Two Men Arrested After Dropping Drugs and Porn into Jail via Drone
Technology is progressing at a rapid rate in this day and it’s changing the way criminals do everything. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), or drones, is especially changing the way how criminals commit their illicit activities.
Just recently, Maryland State Police arrested two men by the name of Thaddeus Shortz and Keith Brian Russell for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs and porn into a prison via a drone, authorities reported.
The two men were arrested for trying to fly a Yuneex Typhoon drone into local jails and were arrested near the Western Correctional Institution and North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland on Saturday.
Shortz and Russell weren’t only trying to smuggled drugs and porn into jails, when arrested, authorities seized:
- A Yuneec Typhoon drone, which retails at around $1,000
- Synthetic marijuana (a.k.a. spice)
- Pornographic films
- Tobacco
- Prescription medication
- A mobile phone
- As well as a loaded pistol
However, authorities confirmed the weapon was to heavy to be carried by the drone but fear this could spark an uptick in drones trying to fly illicit items into prison, especially bigger drones with more power. What makes this even more startling is no technology on the market that can spot drones exists, meaning drones are flying the sky’s almost completely unknown.
Stephen T. Moyer, secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services told reporters he fears bigger drones with more power could smuggle weapons through, in a press conference Monday.
“That’s my biggest fear,” Moyer explained. “The use of these drones to bring this type of contraband into a facility is very, very troubling, and we’re going to address it.”
To deal with this, Moyer is now planning to ask for $400,000 to build drone detection technology and deploy it across their 27 correctional facilities.
Scary to imagine, but this is not the first time criminals have taken their shot at trying to smuggle illicit items into prison via drone usage. A similar incident took place in late July when a drone dropped a package including marijuana, heroin and tobacco into an Ohio state prison.
