Drone Confiscated While Trying To Deliver Contraband To Cushing Prison

New technology brings new problems to Oklahoma state prisons.

Corrections officers spotted a drone heading toward the property in the middle of the night.

And when it landed, they found it was an attempt to deliver contraband to the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing.

The state corrections director said drones worry them for two reasons: the contraband attached and the possibility of photos being taken of the place to help plan escapes or commit crimes.

The drone that arrived Sunday appeared to have a camera mounted on it, and toted a plastic bag filled with what would've been a prized possession for a prisoner.

“They can monitor the correctional officers,” corrections department spokesman Alex Gerszewski said. “And they can also use the cell phones to intimidate witnesses on the outside or continue their criminal enterprises.”

Just last week, a phone was used to film a graphic fight at that Cushing facility.

The Department of Corrections said that video was proof of one of the worst problems in Oklahoma prisons.

Last year, records show more than 7,000 of them were confiscated in the state system.

The DOC recently rolled out new ways to attack the problem.

Since February, all facilities have had tower and deep tissue scanners doing surprise searches.

And at some prisons, they deploy dogs who can sniff out cell phones.

“They’re really getting after it and they’re taking it very seriously,” Gerszewski said.

This was the second time a drone tried to make a cell phone delivery at an Oklahoma prison.

A Tulsa man is accused of dropping hacksaw blades, drugs and a cellphone at the penitentiary in McAlester.