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Authorities said Wednesday, March 18, that a drone flew over the grounds of an upstate New York prison in an attempt to smuggle contraband, releasing a package that contained, among other things, a knife and a “green leafy substance.”
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said in a news release that at approximately 1 a.m. local time on Saturday, March 14, staff at Mercy Correctional Facility detected a drone flying over the facility’s grounds. The drone released a package between dormitory buildings within the facility’s security fence.
The package was quickly recovered by staff, who then notified the department’s Office of Special Investigations and the New York State Police, according to a news release. There were wires protruding from the package, and the New York State Police bomb squad was called to the scene to “ensure the package did not pose an immediate threat,” the news release said.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said the package was opened after it was determined to be safe and authorities found contraband inside. The items included two 8-inch-long double-edged knives and more than a pound of “green leafy material” that appeared to be wrapped in plastic and balloons.
Police said the package also contained five “pieces of paper impregnated with intoxicating chemicals,” a cell phone, two clippers with chargers and accessories, and four bandanas.
The drone was recovered outside the facility in the town of Mercy, New York, about 54 miles east of Syracuse. The ministry said the investigation into the incident is still ongoing and authorities have not identified the person responsible for sending the contraband.
“Contraband entering correctional facilities incites violence and endangers both staff and incarcerated residents,” Daniel F. Martucello III, secretary of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said in a statement.
“The use of drones to deliver weapons, drugs, and cell phones is an evolving but pressing threat facing our correctional system as we continue to close down other means of bringing contraband into our facilities,” Martucello added.
Contraband cases raise calls for “criminalizing the use of drones”
In response to the incident, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision announced that it supports Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to strengthen the state’s ability to combat illegal drone activity by banning the illegal use of drones and restricting their activity in sensitive areas such as correctional facilities.
The governor’s proposal would also create a new criminal offense for illegal drone activity and expand law enforcement’s authority to detect, intercept and neutralize drones that pose a threat to public safety, the department said. Additionally, the proposal would create a registry to identify approved drones and drone mitigation technologies that the state may purchase.
“The use of drones for illegal activities, such as the smuggling of contraband into prisons, poses a growing threat to the safety of everyone inside our prisons,” Chris Summers, president of the New York State Prison Officers and Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement.
Summers added: “This trend poses a significant risk to the safety of both staff and inmates.” “We fully support the Governor’s proposal to criminalize the use of drones within 500 feet of correctional facilities and urge the Legislature to support this important initiative.”
Using drones to smuggle contraband into prisons is not a new tactic; authorities across the country have been grappling with the problem for years. The National Institute of Corrections says contraband such as drugs and weapons pose a “significant risk in correctional settings where the potential for violence and substance abuse is high.”
The Department of Justice reported 130 drone incidents inside federal prisons between 2015 and 2019, according to a 2023 report from the National Institute of Justice. However, the report notes that the number of documented drone incidents is “almost certainly low.”
Several cases in recent years have made national headlines, including the December 2025 shipment of crab legs, steak, and drugs to a South Carolina prison. In March 2024, Georgia authorities arrested and charged 150 people in connection with an elaborate contraband scheme that used drones to deliver drugs to prisons.
Upstate New York prisons under intense surveillance
Mercy Correctional Facility has come under intense scrutiny in recent years for allegations of rampant abuse by staff, retaliation within the facility, poor conditions, and inadequate medical care and services, according to a New York Correctional Association report.
Surveillance of the facility has been increased following several high-profile incidents, including the death of inmate Robert Brooks in 2024, sparking public outrage and community protests. Hochul then ordered prison reforms and the immediate firing of more than a dozen correctional officers involved in the attack.
Brooks, 43, was assaulted by multiple police officers at Mercy Correctional Facility in December 2024 and died at a hospital. The officers did not activate their body cameras, but video taken while their devices were on standby showed them punching, kicking and choking Brooks, who was handcuffed behind his back.
The Utica Observer-Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that 10 correctional officers were charged in the case, and seven of them pleaded guilty to manslaughter or worse. One was convicted of murder, and the other was acquitted last fall.
The incident has renewed calls for accountability and reform within New York’s prison system. Criminal justice reform advocates also highlighted past incidents of alleged misconduct and abuse by state prison staff.
Brooks joins a growing list of state inmates who have died in confrontations with New York prison guards in recent years, USA TODAY Network’s New York team previously reported. Civil rights attorney Katie Rosenfeld has filed multiple lawsuits against the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision over the past two decades, alleging inmate abuse at Mercy Correctional Facility and other facilities.
In a separate lawsuit filed in 2023, civil rights attorney Amy Jane Agnew said staff at Mercy Correctional Institution retaliated against inmates by assaulting them while they were alone in a van with staff.
Contributor: Casey Pritchard Dispatch of Utica lifeguards;Thomas C. Zambito, USA TODAY Network – New York State Team
