Drones delivering illegal drugs, phones and more to Florida prison

By Rachael Perry

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    MARTIN COUNTY, Florida (WPBF) — Officials at the Martin Correctional Institution have reported several incidents involving drones dropping off contraband at the prison.

According to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek, his department was asked for help after the warden at the Martin Correctional Institution said they found illegal drugs, cell phones and even live rounds of ammunition on prison grounds.

“He came to one of our meetings and Intel briefing and was explaining that they’re having recurring problems of drones flying in and over their prison system and dropping cell phones, tobacco, fentanyl, crystal methamphetamine and most concerning to them, they found some live rounds of ammunition in the prison,” Budensiek said.

Prison staff said issues involving drone activity and contraband had happened roughly eight times in a period of two weeks.

Investigators with the MCSO began patrolling the area where narcotics detectives spent several nights in the woods doing surveillance.

“[They] actually observed a drone flying from over the prison back to a location, and they were able to actually track that drone as it flew to a vehicle where they encountered the suspect,” Budensiek told WPBF.

Budensiek said the suspect was identified as Kaheid Ash, and was found dressed in all black where his vehicle was parked on the side of a road.

The drone found at the scene was wrapped in black tape and had two water bottles attached to it. Budensiek said Ash explained the water bottles are used as weights to trigger the dropping mechanism.

Ash was taken in for questioning, where the sheriff said he told several lies about what he was doing in the area and why he was flying a drone there.

“They [investigators] did a search warrant on the drone the other night so they could see the flight patterns of when he’s flown it and he’s flown it over the prison several times,” Budensiek said.

Budensiek said the recent case where ten inmates escaped a jail in New Orleans is a sharp reminder of why they take any and all security issues very seriously.

“The last thing we need in Martin County is for there to be a big incident out there; a riot, God forbid, a jailbreak like we’ve seen out there in Louisiana. That’s the last thing we need here in Martin County, so it’s our job, even though they’re a standalone system, to do our part to keep our county safe,” he said.

He also explained that inmates can get very creative with what they’re able to use contraband for, and that’s always a concern.

“The most concerning thing were live rounds. Of course, they did not find a firearm, but they can make small makeshift firearms. So, it’s extremely dangerous for the correctional officers that work out there, our deputies, if they have to respond out there, other inmates. We do have about a homicide a year in that prison system, so it’s extremely concerning for us,” Budensiek said.

The sheriff said this isn’t an entirely new issue as it’s happened in the past on a local, state and federal level. However, he said efforts to stop drones from flying over prisons haven’t always been successful.

“They have systems over the prison that are made to stop drone activity, but these guys are smart, they figure out how to get in the drone, manipulate the signal and then it tricks the system that’s supposed to stop them. So, this has been going on for a while. The prisons have done the right thing, trying to stay current, but it’s hard to do,” he added.

The suspect in this most recent case, Kaheid Ash, is being held in the jail with no bond. Budensiek said Ash is a convicted felon who spent roughly 22 years in prison. Investigators are still trying to figure out who he was communicating with inside the Martin Correctional Institution and his exact motive.

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