Three weeks before Christmas, staff at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina, discovered a package dropped into the prison yard from a small unmanned aircraft. The South Carolina Department of Corrections posted a photo of the haul on social media under the hashtag #ContrabandChristmas.
The recovered bundle included a raw steak still in grocery packaging, crab legs, a tin of Old Bay seasoning, small plastic baggies of marijuana and two cartons of cigarettes. Authorities said the drone used to deliver the package was also seized Sunday morning, and officials have opened an investigation. No arrests have been reported.
"Seems some folks were planning an early holiday Old Bay crab boil and steak dinner along with their marijuana and cigarettes — all dropped by a drone at Lee CI," the department wrote.
What Officials Are Saying
Prisons spokeswoman Chrysti Shain quipped that "I'm guessing the inmates who were expecting the package are crabby." Corrections officials emphasized that stopping contraband deliveries is an ongoing challenge and that they continue to patrol yards and perimeters for drone activity.
How Smuggling Has Evolved
Attempts to get prohibited items into prisons have long included tossing packages over fences or using improvised catapults. After perimeter fences were raised and netting added, smugglers increasingly turned to drones to deliver phones, drugs and other contraband into exercise yards.
South Carolina law makes merely flying a drone near a prison a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail. Intentionally dropping contraband into a correctional facility is a felony that can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Prison Background
Lee Correctional Institution, located in Bishopville about 50 miles east of Columbia, has a history of violence. The State newspaper reported that two inmates died last week after separate attacks. In 2018, a violent outbreak at Lee CI left seven inmates dead and at least 17 others seriously injured.
Officials continue to investigate the drone delivery. No further details or arrests have been announced.
