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<p>We are taking decisive steps to tackle the use of drones as a supply route for
organised criminals to bring illicit items such as drugs and mobile phones into prisons.
These drone operators can be prosecuted for offences related to conveyance of items
into prison under the Prison Act 1952. Last year we launched Operation Trenton, a
specialist team of police and Prison Service investigators, to work together to intercept
drones and track down the criminals behind them.</p><p> </p><p>In 2016, 92 drones
were recovered. In 2017, 73 were recovered.</p><p> </p><p>In respect of persons prosecuted
for the illegal use of a drone in the vicinity of a prison in the last two years,
we do not hold this data centrally. However, we believe that at least 45 people have
been convicted of illicit drone activity, with those sentenced serving a total of
more than 140 years in prison. On 26 October 2018, following the largest investigation
of its kind, an organised criminal gang of 15 were collectively sentenced to nearly
40 years in prison for using drones to drop drugs into a number of prisons. The ringleader
received a sentence of 10 years, the highest single sentence for drone-related activity
to date.</p>
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