Police searching for person who used drone to drop contraband into Ridgeland prison
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a person they allegedly caught trying to drop contraband off at the Ridgeland Correctional Institution via a drone Monday.
No physical description of the person involved was available Thursday, said Chief Deputy Jeff Crosby, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. Deputies have looked into who the car is registered to, but, because the incident took place outside of the prison, it is being handled by the correctional institution investigators.
Around 2 a.m. Monday, a sheriff’s deputy driving down I-95 saw a white Infinity G37 parked on the side of the road next to the Ridgeland prison that has had issues in the past with keeping out contraband. The deputy reported seeing the person in the car flying a drone toward the prison, police said in a Facebook post Thursday.
When police got close to the car, activating their lights and sirens, the driver took off down I-95. At one point, the car was going over 100 mph, police said. At the ramp on exit 28, the driver cut in front of traffic before crashing into a wooded area nearby. The driver was able to get away on foot.
When police searched the car, they found 5 pounds of marijuana, five cellphones, seven one-gallon individual bags of tobacco, cannabis flower and various tobacco products. Deputies also found the drone, extra drone batteries and cards for Cash App, a phone app that allows for mobile payments. Police estimate what was found in the car is worth over $300,000 “within the prison system.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 5:50 PM.
