Drones seem to have become the ideal tools in the hands of criminals to deliver illegal materials to prison inmates.

Most of the incidents concern the delivery of drugs, but also phones.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said that the number of such incidents had jumped from two in 2019 to nine in just the first three months of this year.

The widespread availability of cheap and easy-to-operate drones has caused a headache for Scotland’s security services. Edinburgh Penitentiary has recorded 11 incidents since 2021, while Perth has had five since 2018.

The detection was done either by the guards of the perimeter or by security cameras, but it is possible that there have been deliveries which were not noticed.

The representative of the Ministry of Justice of Scotland emphasized that it is clear that criminals are now using drones to try to smuggle dangerous drugs and contraband into prison facilities and he added that SPS is working continuously to adapt its security measures to prevent, detect and deter contraband being smuggled into prisons using all the technological tools available.

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