Drone carrying phones crashes at Macon State Prison

A drone toting three cellphones crashed as it flew over Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe on Thursday afternoon.

A guard spotted the flying contraption before it plummeted to the ground, according to a news release from the Georgia Department of Corrections.

The guard drove to the crash site, picked it up and found the cellphones, which were packaged in a black cloth and wrapped with electrical tape.

The phones and the drone were confiscated.

“This is not a first for us, and it is becoming more frequent not only in Georgia, but across prison systems around the nation,” Joan Heath, the state department’s public affairs director, said in an email to The Telegraph. “We consider drones a serious threat to the secure and safe operations of our facilities, as they have become yet another tool for use by individuals wanting to introduce contraband.”

Authorities didn’t know who was operating the drone, but Heath said it is being investigated.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Drone carrying phones crashes at Macon State Prison."