Ohio Police have released a video depicting a Cuyahoga County Jail inmate collecting a package — containing marijuana and a cellphone—that was dropped by a drone into the facility’s outdoor exercise yard.
The security footage, released by Cuyahoga County Jail officials on Tuesday, showed an inmate looking up into the sky at an off-camera object, before making an apparent attempt to catch something falling from the sky. The man doesn’t make the catch and later picks the package up from the ground, hides it in a shirt and walks out of the camera’s view.
The parcel allegedly contained a few cannabis buds and a cellphone.
According to WEWS-TV, the incident originally occurred back in July.
There has been no word on the identity of the inmate, nor any co-conspirators, but the sheriff’s office has officially launched an investigation and turned the case over to prosecutors.
Drones: A Popular Method for Smugglers
Luckily, the package only contained marijuana and a cellphone— and one can argue the cellphone triggers more health-concerns than cannabis. However, the drone smuggling does continue an alarming trend when it comes to illicitly smuggling contraband. And it happens in a variety of different circumstances.
One of the more recent drone-related smuggling controversies came on the heels of a report from the UK’s Daily Star, which chronicled how illicit drugs are now making its way into music festivals.
According to the report, because of increased security measures following a number of festival drug deaths, illicit substances like ecstasy, prescription pills, ketamine, coke, and, to a lesser extent, weed, are being flown into the music festivals via. drones.
“Sniffer dogs are all over it and we’re losing s**t loads. So we’re flying drones in now instead,” an anonymous dealer said to the Star back in August.
“Once it’s in you’re sorted,” they explained. It’s getting it in that’s the problem. But with drones it’s a lot easier. You find a point in a field where no one is, then put a tracker there so the drone can find the location. Then you land it and pick up the drugs. We’ll get someone outside the festival to operate it and I’ll pick them up. You only really need one journey.”
There have also been reports of drones attempting to smuggle contraband into other prisons, as well as in larger-scale, drug trafficking situations.
However, when it comes to smuggling, if there’s a will, there’s a way. And there’s always a will. Just ask the person who smuggled heroin, suboxone, meth, and cannabis wax into Denver prison, courtesy of a burrito. Or the person who should giant bundles of weed over the U.S.-Mexico border with an air cannon. Or the people responsible for smuggling 1,400 lbs of marijuana over the border in coconuts. The list goes on.
Regardless, there’s no doubt that drones have become a go-to way to smuggle drugs—whether it’s at a music festival, a prison, or over the border.
Our word of advice: just stick to the legal marijuana.
