BRUNSWICK COUNTY, Va. — A drug-carrying drone that the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office says was bound for a Virginia correctional facility missed its intended target and landed outside a school.
The drone was carrying a package that contained marijuana, tobacco, cellphones, and a USB‑C-to-lightning converter, investigators said.
Sheriff's deputies were called to Brunswick Academy in Lawrenceville at about 8:24 a.m. local time Monday when school employees reported that they found "a suspicious package" outside the school.
"During our investigation, it was determined that this package was dropped around 5:40 a.m. due to the fact that the witness saw a drone during that time land on the grounds," Brunswick County Sheriff Brian Roberts wrote in an email. "Soon thereafter, the witness saw a small dark-colored sedan come into the parking lot of the school and grab the drone."
The people in the car left the package behind, according to investigators.
"Based on our investigation, it is obviously apparent that the package was intended to be dropped at the adjacent property of the Lawrenceville Correctional Center, which is operated by a private company named The GEO Group," Roberts said. "We have had numerous calls for service at the prison this year to include other drone sightings alleging the same criminal activity."
Roberts said the investigation was ongoing.
This story was originally published by Wayne Covil on Scripps station WTVR in Richmond, Virginia.
