JAIL chiefs are powerless to stop gangs using drones to flood prisons with drugs, it is feared.
Crooks have sneaked 150 deliveries into Scots nicks with the airborne gadgets in four years.
No-fly zones in England mean drone operators spotted within 400ft of any jail face £2,500 fines or up to ten years behind bars.
But there is no comparable law north of the border.
And last night a prison insider told The Scottish Sun on Sunday: “It’s party time when a drone gets through.
“Halls go from dry to flooded with drugs in minutes.”
The remote-controlled robots cost as little as £15 and some carry 10kg loads.
Blades and phones are among other items smuggled in. And the problem is growing, with around 70 drone flights to jails last year alone — up from just seven in 2021.
Glasgow’s tough Barlinnie topped the list with 55 in four years. HMP Edinburgh had 52.
The Civil Aviation Authority said it is up to ministers or prison chiefs to apply for airspace restrictions.
Scots Tories shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said: “Ministers cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this growing crisis.
“They should explore every way in which legislation could be implemented up here.”
We told how five inmates at HMP Glenochil, near Alloa, needed hospital treatment after a drugs drop on Christmas Day.
The Scottish Prisons Service said: “Use of drones to bring illicit substances into our establishments is a major challenge.”
The Scottish Government was approached for a comment.
