Drone dropped contraband into notorious SC prison. It didn’t smuggle hard drugs
A drone smuggling contraband into a notorious prison was recently intercepted before the contents could make it to any inmates, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
What was the drone trying to fly to the inmates at Lee Correctional Institution? It wasn’t hard drugs nor was it weapons. It was some ingredients for a classic Southern meal, the S.C. Department of Corrections said on social media.
Old Bay seasoning and crab legs were some of the contents seized by prison officials. They also recovered steak, cigarettes and marijuana from the package that was dropped by the drone, according to the S.C. Department of Corrections.
No arrests were reported, and there was no word about who was operating the drone or who was expecting the package inside the prison where seven inmates were killed and 17 more were injured during a violent incident in 2018.
More recently, two inmates at Lee Correctional died last week after they were attacked in separate incidents.
Both of last week’s deaths are being investigated as suspected homicides by the South Carolina Department of Corrections Inspector General’s office with assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Crime Scene unit and the Lee County Coroner’s Office.
Lee Correctional is a men’s-only, split-custody prison that houses inmates in “close” (high-security) and “medium security” facilities, according to the Department of Corrections. Like other close prisons in South Carolina, Lee is “designed primarily to house violent offenders with longer sentences, and inmates who exhibit behavioral problems,” the Department of Corrections said.
The prison is in Bishopville, about 50 miles east of Columbia.
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This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 1:34 PM.
