New York prison officials are sounding the alarm after drones dropped packages stuffed with cell phones, drugs and weapons into two upsstate correctional facilities in less than two months — a security threat that Gov. Kathy Hochul moved recently to address with new legislation.
The latest incidents occurred at Wallkill and Sing Sing prisons, where correction officers recovered contraband that had been flown into prison grounds during overnight drone flights, according to a press release by the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.
An officer at Wallkill Correctional Facility in Ulster around 1 a.m. on May 26 heard a drone buzzing overhead before a package weighing more than five pounds crashed into the prison yard.
Officers recovered cellphones, charging cables, SIM cards, 15 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana and bags containing unidentified pills, according to the release.
Less than two weeks later, just before 4 a.m. on June 8, an officer at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining watched a drone drop a package containing a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana, 15 pills, a set of Apple earphones and cellphone charging cord, said the release.
It’s unclear if the two recent incidents are related to a March drone drop at Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
Inside the package, guards found two eight-inch, double-edged knives, 530 grams of what appeared to be marijuana and five pieces of paper saturated in intoxicating chemicals. It also had a cell phone, some hair clippers and four bandanas, according to an NY DOCCS press release.
“There is a broader pattern of drone use to smuggle contraband into prisons as inmates and their associates continue to find new ways to introduce drugs, weapons, and other dangerous items inside correctional facilities,” NYSCOPBA Mid-Hudson Region Vice President Joe Horacek said.
“These latest incidents at Wallkill and Sing Sing highlight the urgent need to identify and prosecute those responsible under the new legislation signed into law by the governor.”
The recent cases come days after Hochul signed legislation addressing the “nefarious” use of drones on June 17.
The law, which takes effect Aug. 25, specifically makes it illegal to use drones to deliver contraband into prisons or to fly them over correctional facilities and other sensitive locations without authorization.
The problem extends well beyond New York.
South Carolina officials have reported drones delivering everything from drugs and knives to steak dinners and crab legs into prisons, according to a CNN report.
The DOJ office in Georgia announced Wednesday that 12 individuals were charged with using drones to allegedly smuggle contraband, such as drugs and cell phones, into ten prisons across eight states.
And the threat is escalating quickly.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons recorded just 23 drone incursions in 2018. By 2024, that number had surged to 479 incidents — more than a 20-fold increase — as drones delivered drugs, weapons and cellphones into federal prisons, according to testimony given during a Senate Judiciary hearing.
Investigations into the New York State incidents remain ongoing.
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