Man tries to fly drugs and cellphones into prison using a drone, Georgia police say
A man’s attempt at flying a bundle of drugs and cellphones into a Georgia state prison using a bright orange drone were thwarted, authorities said.
The package attached to the drone contained marijuana, fentanyl patches, tobacco, three cellphones and more, according to authorities in Telfair County.
Jon-Michael Austin, of Greenwood, South Carolina, was arrested after deputies were called to “suspicious activity” occurring at Telfair State Prison in McRae-Helena on Jan. 23, the Telfair County Sheriff said in a Jan. 24 news release.
Austin is charged with possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, possessing a schedule two substance with intent to distribute and with a criminal attempt to distribute contraband, the sheriff said.
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid considered a schedule two substance, meaning it has a “high potential for abuse,” according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Fentanyl patches can be prescribed by health care providers to patients “who need daily, round-the-clock, long-term pain medicine by releasing fentanyl through the skin over the course of the treatment,” the Food and Drug Administration says.
Austin was in jail as of Jan. 24 after a judge didn’t allow him bail, The Associated Press reported.
In December, a drone that was likely headed to a correctional facility — and carrying a package believed to contain drugs — crashed into a woman’s house in Mansfield, Ohio, McClatchy News reported.
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Man tries to fly drugs and cellphones into prison using a drone, Georgia police say."
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