LEE COUNTY, S.C. — The Lee County Sheriff is warning of new, high-tech drones that are making it harder for police to intercept contraband operations at Lee Correctional Facility.
According to investigators, 20 people have been arrested in connection with flying drones that drop contraband at Lee Correctional. Over 100 pounds of contraband has been seized as a result of the investigation since May 2021. Items included are: drugs, phones, cash and weapons.
The State Department of Corrections and Lee County Sheriff's Office said suspects often attempt to deliver the contraband at night. At the end of January, a massive drone was confiscated outside the prison before it took flight. “It is the largest drone I’ve ever seen,” said Sheriff Daniel Simon. The drone was holding a heavy metal box filled with contraband.
Simon explained that newer drones have a release switch on the bottom, making it easier for outsiders to release the illegal deliveries to inmates. "It would say it's like Amazon," said Simon. Traditionally, suspects use much smaller drones with a long chord or rope tied to the package.
With the more advanced drones, larger packages can be carried and they aren't as easy to detect. “My biggest concern is they can fly it higher and drop it from way up in the sky instead of getting it closer to the institution,” said the sheriff.
Other concerns are the increase of attempts to drop contraband and the number of weapons getting into the prison. Simon said, “several of [the packages] had knives in them. So my thing is, we intercepted that package, but how many did we miss?”
He worries weapons getting dropped inside could lead to another safety breach like the 2018 riot at Lee Correctional that killed seven.
“I don’t ever want to see that again" Simon said about the riot. "When that happened, we were intercepting packages coming in, did that contribute to it? I don’t know.”
Law enforcement and the Department of Corrections said they’re cracking down on contraband, but didn’t reveal their new tactics in hopes of keeping criminals in the dark.
The Sheriff’s Office said deputies regularly patrol the perimeter of Lee Correctional. Plus, nets surround the walls to prevent people from throwing items over.