In the good old days (so heist films have informed us), criminals used to use loaves of bread, cake and other baked goods to smuggle contraband into prisons.
There's not so much romance attached to piloting a drone over boundary walls, but it's becoming the preferred method of sending 'care packages' to inmates.
The Baltimore Sun has word on the latest attempt, which saw police arrest two men loitering outside a prison in Cumberland, Maryland, in their car with a Yuneec Typhoon drone (subtle) on the back seat.
Upon investigating the drone, the police discovered a handgun and six packages that contained synthetic marijuana, rolling papers, quantities of the painkiller buprenorphine and porn DVDs.
Corrections Secretary Stephen T. Moyer revealed the news to assembled press with the line "You can't make this stuff up", describing how drone deliveries were becoming an increasing problem for security services.
"Contraband fuels violence, and we are committed to keeping it out for the safety of our staff and the inmates," said Moyer.
What's not clear is whether the two men - now facing multiple drug and gun-related charges - had successfully delivered packages with the drone before. Police said they had acted on "a great deal of intelligence information", leaving a vague question mark hovering (drone-like) over whether they had found contraband from previous deliveries.
Also, quite how the prisoners were going to watch the porn DVDs is also beyond us. Do they have access to their own DVD players? In which case, what sort of DVD library is available to the prisoners? Shawshank Redemption? The Rock? Prison Break?
