A 23-year-old man from Gleizé has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Villefranche-sur-Saône criminal court for operating an illicit drone delivery operation targeting the Caladoise prison.
According to investigators, the man conducted nearly 200 drone flights between July 6 and July 26, transporting unidentified parcels to inmates held at the Villefranche remand center. The drone launches were allegedly carried out from a residential building in the town of Gleizé.
Authorities were alerted to the operation following repeated drone activity in the vicinity of the prison. Surveillance teams tracked the drone’s flight path, ultimately locating its operator. Police reportedly found the drone and remote-control equipment used in the flights in the suspect’s residence.
Despite the scale and apparent sophistication of the operation, the accused denied responsibility in court, claiming he had been coerced into storing the drone by local criminals. The man refused to disclose the contents of the delivered packages or provide details on any profits gained from the scheme.
The court noted that the defendant has prior convictions, including for offenses involving drones. While no confession was obtained, the evidence of repeated flights and the recovery of the drone at his home were deemed sufficient for conviction.
He was immediately taken into custody following the hearing to serve his sentence.
French prison authorities have increasingly confronted the challenge of contraband deliveries via unmanned aerial vehicles. Items such as drugs, phones and weapons have previously been smuggled into facilities using similar methods.
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