Forbidden Donut

A MINIATURE toy helicopter was used to try to drop drugs into a prison, it was revealed yesterday.

Astonished guards raised the alarm after the remote control chopper was seen zooming over the walls at night time.

They spotted the 12-inch long craft on CCTV screens at Elmley Prison and saw it had a small load slung underneath the fuselage — thought to contain drugs.

An insider said: “Using a mini-helicopter to get contraband into jails is unprecedented.

“It was pitch black and the officers were sweeping the area using special CCTV cameras when they spotted it. They nearly fell off their chairs.

“They sounded the alarm right away because the helicopter was heading straight for the accommodation blocks.”

Staff at the Category C jail in Sheerness, Kent, rushed to the six accommodation blocks. The units are not locked at night and inmates have access to the grounds.

But they found no sign of the toy or its cargo.

Another source said: “It could have been drugs or a mobile phone in the package. It is possible it was a dummy run.”

Security staff swept the area and checked cells the next day but left empty-handed.

Remote control helicopters are hugely popular with model flyers.

Kits cost as little as £20 and sophisticated versions have hi-tech electronic controls.

They are fast and can be landed in a small area by an operator from hundreds of yards away.

A Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed the incident took place at Elmley.

Last month The Sun revealed that a plot had been uncovered to try to smuggle drugs into prisons using mini-rockets.