A drone carrying marijuana, cellphones, and other contraband was found crashed in the bushes outside a South Carolina maximum-security prison.

The unmanned plane collided outside Lee Correctional Institution, which has a 12-foot high razor wire fence and is known to be a maximum-security prison.

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According to Stephanie Givens, a spokeswoman for the Corrections Department, the search has been ongoing ever since a drone was found near the outside walls of the Institution in April. Inmates were also found to be in possession of contraband such as phones, marijuana, and tobacco products.

Givens added that this was the first time officials knew that drones were being used to smuggle banned items into prisons. She pointed to the unusual smuggling technique as an indication of the innovative technology people have access to.

Although this may be the first known incident of its nature, the discovery has sparked concerns over prison security. Officials do not have a concrete idea as to what could have happened had the drone managed to make it over the fence.

One man has been arrested for attempting to pass contraband on to other inmates, and officials are still searching for a second suspect believed to be involved in the incident.

28-year-old Brenton Lee Doyle was caught passing drugs to other prisoners while his accomplice was captured on a store surveillance camera buying products which were later found on the crashed drone.

The use of contraband by inmates in prisons poses a security threat to both officers and the public. It is for this reason that authorities have been particularly alarmed at how innovative inmates and their outside connections have been at finding new ways to sneak these materials inside.

As a result, authorities are looking to test new and effective approaches to countering these novel smuggling methods.

TagsLee Correctional Institution, drone smuggling, SC prison drone smuggling, drone crash SC, SC prison drone crash