Drug, mobile phones, alcohol...U France se drones they are increasingly used to smuggle prohibited products into prisons.
Cases have multiplied in recent months, indicating the increasing professionalization of such air deliveries.
The remand prison in Villefranche-sur-Saône, in the Rhône department, regularly faces this problem.
In early August, authorities uncovered a drug-trafficking operation on an unprecedented scale that involved the use of drones to supply inmates with drugs.
Initially, investigators recorded 880 drone deliveries in just 25 days and identified two takeoff zones located right next to the prison.
A large-scale operation conducted on August 4 led to the arrest of five people, three of whom were caught in the act. The gendarmes seized 500 grams of cannabis, ten packs of cigarettes, 6.000 euros in cash, a vehicle and a drone used to make deliveries.
Analysis of the digital data recorded by the device revealed even more extensive activity: in less than two months, there were 1.826 deliveries, bringing more than 30 kilograms of drugs into the prison.
The investigation also revealed a specially structured organization. Each suspect had a specific role, from receiving orders to logistics and package delivery.
Similar cases have already been recorded in previous years, with shipments containing cocaine, heroin, cannabis, mobile phones and SIM cards.
In Strasbourg, drones interfere with rescue helicopters
In Strasbourg, this phenomenon is now having consequences that are felt far beyond the prison walls.
For several weeks, drones have been preventing helicopters transporting injured people or patients from landing at night at the heliport at Otpierre Hospital.
Some of these devices are allegedly used for clandestine deliveries to prisoners in the Strasbourg-Elzo remand prison.
Because of the risk of collisions, medical helicopters can no longer use the hospital's helipad at night and must land on another platform before patients can be transferred by ambulance.
Prisons are beefing up their defenses against drones
Given the scale of the phenomenon, prison authorities are trying to step up their response.
The most exposed objects are gradually being equipped with systems capable of detecting and neutralizing drones.
Of the 78 anti-drone systems ordered by the Ministry of Justice, 62 were installed and operational in French prisons by February 2026. The remaining 16 systems will be deployed by the end of 2026.
Source: Euronews
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