The government has confirmed a drone was intercepted while trying to drop contraband into the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre.
Staff was able to intercept the package before the contents made their way to any inmates.
“Of course, we take this very seriously,” Drew Wilby with the Ministry of Justice said at a press conference on Friday. “It is a significant security breach at Regina Correctional. It’s something we’re looking into and we’re investigating the circumstances surrounding that.”
This is the first time in Saskatchewan that a drone has been intercepted while trying to deliver contraband to a correctional facility.
“I know our neighbours to the west and east haven’t had much experience with this, but we’ll continue to work with them,” said Wilby.
The Ministry wouldn’t confirm the contents of the package, but said it was about the size of a fist.
“It was nothing of a significant nature, but it was enough for us to be concerned to launch the investigation and to deal with this accordingly,” Wilby said.
When asked about preventing drone drops, Wilby said other jurisdictions have invested in eagles to bring down the air crafts. He said the province is not considering the animals as a preventative option.
“Obviously this is very rare,” Wilby said. “Inmates are always looking at different ways of getting contraband into our facilities. We’re always aware of that, working on best practices, ways of dealing with those things from coming in. Because, of course, the last thing we want is contraband of any kind coming in to a correctional centre.”
