Plan to smuggle contraband into prison by drone thwarted

Police in Larissa, central Greece, have thwarted a gang suspected of attempting to smuggle drugs and cell phones into the town’s prison by drone. Had the effort been successful, it is thought the gang, which had members both inside and outside the prison, would have sold the contraband to other inmates, reaping earnings of around 150,000 euros.

The scheme to fly 211 grams of heroin, 418 grams of hashish, 10 phones and 25 SIM cards into the prison was allegedly run from inside by three Albanians aged 26-36, as well as three accomplices on the outside, a 24-year-old Albanian ex-convict, a Greek man, 19, and a 24-year-old Greek woman.

According to investigators, the 19-year-old and 24-year-old purchased the remote-control device in Athens but were spotted in a car near Larissa Prison and apprehended. The woman was arrested later at the local intercity bus depot after returning from the capital, where she had procured the drugs.