One of the finer points of the prison system is contraband will always find a way in, be it through smuggling or other nefarious means.
Several arrests have been made across North Texas after multiple individuals have been caught using drones to drop drugs onto prison grounds across the Metroplex.
Early last May, a drone was caught hovering above a Fort Worth federal prison before crash landing near a construction shop inside the facility.
Its contents included "four packages of tobacco, a baggie of crystal meth, 20 containers of THC, two prepaid cell phones, and nine MP3 players."
42-year-old Bryant LeRay Henderson was later arrested for operating the drone, and according to the Dallas Morning News, the drone's data indicated that it had made "three previous flights into the prison's airspace."
Federal authorities are currently investigating "a large criminal organization responsible for maneuvering sophisticated drones over barbed wire fences and onto prison grounds."
In fact, more than 40 people have been arrested and charged thus far, including white supremacist gang members, in that case filed in the Eastern District of Texas.
Authorities found the suspects used "commercial-grade drones" to deliver contraband such as drugs, cell phones, and "other highly-coveted items that inmates use and sell" inside prison grounds.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Rattan said in a court filing, "Multiple indicted defendants were involved in a scheme deploying commercial grade, sophisticated drones to drop contraband including cell phones and controlled substances into Texas state penitentiaries."
The federal Bureau of Prisons has called drones a "major security threat" that not only can deliver contraband, but also "conduct surveillance, help inmates escape, and transport dangerous weapons like guns and explosives."
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