“Delinquency does not shy away from any technological innovation for its business,” notes Cécilia Agez, commander of the Nantes gendarmerie company. Four people were arrested and placed in police custody for their active role in a major goods delivery network for the benefit of detainees in the west of France, the Nantes prosecutor’s office and the national gendarmerie announced this Friday evening. More than fifty deliveries have been made, sometimes up to ten per day, since May in four prison establishments: Nantes, Le Havre, Lorient and Poitiers.
The originality lies in the fact that these deliveries were made using drones piloted up to the detainees’ windows. The packages were delivered in the middle of the night so as not to alert the prison guards. “The criminals had hijacked the drone’s electronic system in order to deactivate the indicator lights. The device was also equipped with a gripper allowing you to grab the package and then release it,” explains Cécilia Agez.
“An organized and professional business”
The network made it possible to place orders, by telephone, via a Snapchat account called “Air colis”. Delivery price: 400 euros for 500 grams. The merchandise was entrusted to the delivery men by relatives of the detainees. It was weighed, checked, then sent to customers at a specific meeting time. The drone pilot was guided to the correct window using a light signal and live telephone exchanges. “They were acting as quickly as possible. They had a drone and a backup battery. It’s an organized and professional business,” emphasizes Cécilia Agez.
This illegal activity was interrupted after reports from the prison administration and investigative work by several gendarmerie services. Last Tuesday, three suspects were arrested in flagrante delicto near the Nantes remand center. A fourth suspect was arrested at his home in La Baule the same day. The four men were aged between 21 and 26. Three of them were brothers from the Toulouse region and already known to the police.
In total, investigators seized nine drones, 500 grams of cocaine, a kilogram of cannabis resin, nearly a thousand euros in cash, as well as technical equipment (jammers, etc.) from their home. No less than 36 mobile phones and 1.6 kg of cannabis were also discovered during recent searches within the Nantes remand center.
A first at this level in France
“These are anything but trivial facts. To my knowledge, there has never been a case [de livraison par drones] of such magnitude in France”, insists the public prosecutor, Renaud Gaudeul, who mentions the probability of a parallel organization for receiving goods “within the Nantes remand center itself”.
The four suspects will be prosecuted for flying over a prohibited area, illegally introducing objects to detainees and drug trafficking. They face up to 10 years in prison. The detainees and relatives involved are also exposed to prosecution, specifies the prosecutor. “It is good for the criminals to know that the investigation services have upgraded themselves,” warns Renaud Gaudeul.
Drone flights over prisons are increasing throughout France. In 2022, the prison administration noted 68 drone overflights in France. Thirty-seven were recorded in 2021, 39 in 2020 and 40 in 2019.