Prisons in England and Wales record rapid rise in drones delivering drugs [View all]

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Source: Guardian

Prisons will need more money to combat the rapid rise in drones delivering drugs, the head of an influential Commons committee has said, as figures showed the number of aerial incursions predicted to have tripled in two years.

A freedom of information request by the Guardian found there were 1,296 drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales in the 10 months to the end of October 2024, a tenfold increase since 2020.

The Labour chair of the Commons justice committee, Andy Slaughter, said the figures should “set alarm bells ringing” about prison security.

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The drugs trade in prisons is so lucrative that gangs are headhunting highly skilled drone pilots from the non-criminal world to ferry their cargo to cell windows.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/01/prisons-in-england-and-wales-record-rapid-rise-in-drones-delivering-drugs