The mastermind behind a high-tech drone drug-smuggling ring supplying prisons across the UK has been locked up for six years, West Mercia Police confirmed today.
Kaine Jones Busted at Redditch Crown Court
Kaine Jones, 28, of Redditch, was found guilty of conspiracy to smuggle banned goods into prisons and possession with intent to supply MDMA. His gang used drones to deliver mobile phones, tobacco, and Class A and B drugs into jails across England, Wales, and Scotland.
Jones was sentenced for smuggling contraband, including phones, charging cables, tobacco, and serious drugs. A possession charge related to cannabis was also recorded but not further prosecuted. All seized items have been confiscated.
How Cops Nabbed the Drone Drug Runner
Police first clocked Jones in June 2024 after chasing a Toyota van abandoned near HMP The Mount in Hertfordshire. Inside the van, officers found a large drone and a bulky parcel stuffed with tobacco, cannabis, iPhones, SIM cards, and Class A drugs.
A laptop recovered from the vehicle contained drone flight software tied to multiple drug drops near prisons like HMP Bullingdon, HMP Exeter, and HMP Hull.
In August 2024, a similar custom-built drone crashed near HMP Winchester. Digital forensics linked the drone to test flights from Jones’s home in Redditch.
Massive Haul and Damning Evidence
Jones was arrested on 30 September 2025 at Birmingham Airport. Police found a car packed with backpacks and packages containing cannabis resin, MDMA, tobacco, and a drug-dealing kit worth over £20,000.
Items seized included scales, multiple phones, laptops, forensic gloves, fishing hooks, and adhesive materials used to attach drugs to drones. Phone records revealed chilling chats about drug prices, prison drop routes, and selfies of Jones posing with his drones.
DC Michael Vince of the North Worcestershire county lines team said: “We are pleased with this sentence for Jones, who was the criminal head of a sophisticated network of illegal drug drops into UK prisons.
“This was an incredibly complex but ultimately successful investigation that significantly disrupted the flow of illicit items into prisons and caused major setbacks for the organised crime group involved.”
