A Christmas package carrying some naughty items was recently delivered via drone at a prison yard in Bishopville, South Carolina.
The S.C. Department of Corrections said the drone carrying the items dropped its cargo at the Lee Correctional Institution, Local 12 reported Tuesday. The outlet said the package contained Old Bay seasoning, Marlboro cigarettes, crab legs, steak, and marijuana.
In a social media post on Monday, authorities shared a photo of the delivery and said, “Seems some folks were planning an early holiday Old Bay crab boil and steak dinner along with their marijuana and cigarettes — all dropped by a drone at Lee CI.”
The photo also appeared to show a plastic bag from the iconic Piggly Wiggly grocery store:
“Officials said the delivery was an effort to stage an early holiday meal inside the prison,” WACH reported Monday.
Authorities seized the drone early Sunday but did not confirm whether any arrests were made following the incident.
In its coverage of the story, the Associated Press created a parody from the famous poem known as “A Visit from St. Nicholas”:
’Twas three weeks before Christmas, and in the prison yard,
a drone-dropped package was found by a guard.
With steak, weed and crab legs, and cigarettes for days.
And to season it all, a tin of Old Bay.
When speaking of the illicit package, prisons spokeswoman Chrysti Shain told the AP, “I’m guessing the inmates who were expecting the package are crabby.”
The article said that in previous years people have used all kinds of methods to get packages to inmates, including catapults. Now, they have begun using drones, which creates a headache for prison officials who must keep a close eye on the prison yard in case one of the devices drops something.
“Just flying a drone near a prison in South Carolina is a misdemeanor crime that carries up to 30 days in jail. Dropping contraband into the prison is a felony that can land someone behind bars for 10 years,” the AP report said.
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