Overview
- Officials said that around 1 a.m. on March 14 a drone released a package between dorms at Marcy Correctional Facility, and staff called the State Police Bomb Squad, which found no immediate explosive threat.
- Authorities reported the bundle contained two 8-inch double-edged knives, about 530 grams of synthetic marijuana labeled “Candy Crush,” “Blue Nerds” and “Lemonade,” a cellphone, hair clippers with chargers, four bandanas, and five papers saturated with intoxicating chemicals.
- Investigators recovered the drone outside the prison and are working to identify who operated it, with no suspects publicly named.
- DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III described drone smuggling of weapons, drugs and phones as an “evolving but imminent threat” to the corrections system.
- State corrections officials, union leaders and the governor’s office are urging passage of budget measures to criminalize unlawful flights over prisons, create new offenses, expand tracking and authorize counter-drone tools, with the union backing a 500-foot buffer.