Watch: Drone Airdrops Drugs To Inmates At Ohio Jail 

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office released a new video from within an Ohio jail that shows the moment when a consumer drone buzzed overhead and dropped a bag of drugs to an inmate, reported WTHR Indianapolis News. 

The video, caught on a closed-circuit television system of the Cuyahoga County Jail, located in Cleveland, Ohio, shows several inmates in a fenced-off courtyard playing cornhole. 

One inmate is seen walking around the courtyard with his head in the air, apparently lining up a drop from the drone operator. The inmate is holding a shirt like a catcher’s mitt as the drone operator releases the bag from an unknown altitude. The clumsy inmate missed the drop and tripped over the cornhole set, as the bag tumbled across the courtyard. Seconds later, he recovers the bag and walks away. 

Wait for it…

An inmate at an Ohio jail was caught on camera waiting for a drone to drop a package of marijuana and a cell phone: https://t.co/OcTGszjoqx pic.twitter.com/1XC4tGTGLD

— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) September 24, 2019

Authorities told WTHR, the incident took place over the summer, and the contents in the bag included marijuana and a smartphone. Prosecutors said the case is “under review,” although no criminal charges have been filed.

An air space map below shows drones are prohibited from flying over the Cuyahoga County Jail, located at 1215 W 3rd St, Cleveland, Ohio. The area is clearly marked in red, indicating the drone pilot broke Federal Aviation Administration laws. 

The drone incident follows several instances where drugs were smuggled into the facility. In one example, authorities discovered a hole in one of the jail cells.

Cuyahoga County Jail will likely install contraband netting systems that are designed to deter, mitigate, and or deny drug airdrops via drones.