in prison, where a single cigarette can cost $10, there’s a strong market for contraband. typically, such illicit goods are carried in by visitors, other inmates, or staff. now the daily mail is reporting on a new technology in contraband delivery: the remote-controlled helicopter.

A toy helicopter is believed to have been used in an attempt to smuggle drugs into a prison.

Guards at Elmley Prison in Sheerness, Kent, spotted the remote control miniature aircraft flying over the walls of the jail and heading for the accommodation blocks one night after it was picked up by CCTV cameras.

It had a small load beneath the fuselage, thought to contain drugs.
The toy or its cargo was not found.

hmm. i’ve heard of actual helicopters being used in escape attempts, but never toys. in such cases, of course, there’s a fine line between clever and stupid. the remote-control operator could really only escape detection by executing the drop from a great distance. anyone sidling up to the wall with an RC-helicopter and, say, a baggy of heroin, would be quickly apprehended. still, i’m guessing some screenwriter will work this into a prison movie — perhaps with someone in the guard tower blasting the li’l helicopter out of the sky.

(via boing)