Inmates of Mansfield Correctional Institute near Cleveland fought over a package that was dropped into the facility's recreational area by a drone. The package is said to have contained illegal substances.
Jail guards of MCI were alarmed after a brawl broke out amongst the inmates in the north recreation area of the correctional facility. The correctional officers responded immediately to the uproar and used pepper spray to break up the brawl. The concerned inmates, about 75 from the north recreation and 130 on the south recreation, were taken to the gym for a strip-search, a cell sensor, and clinical check up. The nine inmates who were directly involved in the brawl were sent to solitary confinement.
After everything calmed down, officials of Mansfield Correctional Institution reviewed the security footage to discern the cause of the brawls.
They then saw that a drone had dropped a package in the north recreation area which was then picked up by an inmate. The inmate then threw the contraband over the fence into the south recreation area which started the fight. According to Fox News, the package contained 144 grams of tobacco, 65.4 grams of marijuana, and 6.6 grams of heroin. It was said to have been intended for one of the inmates and was found in a prison equipment room.
The use of drones to deliver packages containing banned items in to a prison facility is actually common in the United States. This, however, has only happened in Ohio a few times, says JoEllen Smith, spokesperson of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Drones are unmanned vehicles that can be maneuvered remotely or through a pre-installed flight plan in its software. Drones are most commonly used in military operations and are called either an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or a Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS). These aerial vehicles are used when manned flight is deemed as risky.
Mini and remote-controlled drones can be easily acquired through web stores such as in Amazon for only $400. However, controlling these drones are not as easy.
"They don't fly themselves," says Kyle Belman in an interview with Pix 11. Belman earns a living selling drones out of Columbus-based Cyclone Hobbies. "You'd have to be pretty savvy and know a lot about the scenario to pull something like that off," Belman says.
