Drones are smuggling drugs into South Carolina prisons nightly. What to know

South Carolina officials say drones dropping drugs, phones and other contraband into state prisons have become an “everyday battle,” with aircraft now capable of hauling 20 to 30 pounds. Attorney General Alan Wilson has asked President Donald Trump to help law enforcement detect and intercept the drones.

FULL STORY: Desk-sized drones and 30‑pound drops at SC prisons. State AG asks Trump for help

Here are key takeaways:

• The scale: Corrections director Joel Anderson said prisons face “nightly attacks by drones dropping deadly drugs and other contraband.” The problem dates to at least 2017, when an inmate escaped using wire cutters flown in by drone.

• The federal ask: Wilson said federal law limits who can detect and stop drones, “leaving correctional officers and local law enforcement without the authority or tools to act in real time.” He called it “a dangerous gap.”

• The drones are getting bigger: Smugglers have moved from small models carrying a few phones to aircraft hauling 20 to 30 pounds. Some confiscated drones were “as big as my desk,” said corrections spokesperson Chrysti Shain.

• Smugglers use diversionary tactics: Operators sometimes fly two drones at once — one to draw attention to one side of a facility while the other drops contraband on the opposite side. Packages can be disguised to look like common objects such as a basketball.

• Fentanyl raises the stakes: Officials say shooting down a drone is illegal and dangerous. “If it crashes carrying a large bag of fentanyl, everybody’s dead,” Shain said.

• Countermeasures have limits: The state uses drone detection technology and 50-foot netting around major prisons, but smugglers can buy cheap fixes on Amazon to bypass built-in flight restrictions.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.