Recently, associates of notorious gangster, Redoine Faid from South Paris, France, hijacked a helicopter and flew it onto the grounds of the Reau prison. They then proceeded to use force to open a door to free the 46 year old.  According to the French justice ministry, the whole incident only took a few minutes.  The gangsters then flew the stolen helicopter to a spot 37 miles from the prison where a getaway car was waiting.

Nobody was harmed during the incident.  After investigations, the French justice minister, Nicole Belloubet, revealed that the investigators suspected drones may have been used by the prisoner’s gang to gather information about the jail in the lead up to the jailbreak. They believe the drone helped them find the perfect spot to land the helicopter.

Faid was serving a 25 year prison sentence for the murder of a policeman during a robbery in 2010. Prior to that, Faid had served jail time for a series of armed robberies of various banks and vans transporting money. This is not the first time Faid pulled off a spectacular prison break. In 2013, Faid managed to escape from a different prison by blasting his way out using explosives, but he was caught about a month later.

A nationwide manhunt has now begun to search for Faid and his gang.  While there have been plenty of stories of drones being used to fly illegal contraband into prisons, this was the first time drones were successfully used to help an escape.  Drones are becoming a major problem for prisons because they can easily fly onto the grounds undetected.

Drones have been used to deliver drugs, phones, and weapons worth over $1.3 million to five different prisons nearly 50 times over a two-year period in the UK alone.  As drones get smaller and more advanced, there is a need for governments to come up with high tech solutions to help stop this growing problem.

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