Acting Commissioner of Prisons Hayden Forde says more than 600 drone drops have been detected across Trinidad’s prisons between April and October this year, with the majority occurring at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca.
Forde, speaking on a local television programme Monday, said the growing use of drones to smuggle contraband has become a serious challenge for prison authorities, adding that some officers are also complicit in the illegal activity.
“The greatest challenge that we face on a daily basis would be drone flights. Drone flights take place every single day,” Forde said. “So, the criminal realise that that’s a weak spot and they are actually using that to their advantage. Despite that we have officers who are intercepting some of those drops, the vast majority, obviously based on the flight patterns… we have not been able to intercept.”
He revealed that between April 4 and October 4, 2025, prison officials recorded 626 drone sightings, most of which occurred over the Maximum Security Prison — home to the largest population of remanded inmates.
Forde said that while officers have managed to recover some of the contraband, the prison system lacks the necessary technology and resources to effectively counter the problem. He also admitted that several officers have been aiding in the smuggling operations.
“We have several rogue officers who are operating in our system. Despite efforts to weed them out, they are still in our system,” he said. “They are complicit, and I am not going to hide that at all… as far as I am concerned they are gang members, they are part of a criminal network.”
The comments follow a recent joint operation in which police and prison officers arrested two people — including a 13-year-old boy — who allegedly attempted to fly a drone loaded with marijuana, cigarettes, wrapping paper, and cellphones into the Maximum Security Prison.
Forde said talks are ongoing with Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander on possible countermeasures, including anti-drone systems capable of detecting, disabling, or tracking the devices back to their operators.
“What is really needed are anti-drone devices that are in a fixed place, but can cover a certain radius and… detect it, capture it, defuse it,” he said. “It can send it back to the operator where the police can follow the drone and make an arrest if possible.”
The prison chief also expressed alarm over the involvement of minors in smuggling operations. “It seems as though they (criminals) are training people to get involved in criminal activities and continue on that line,” Forde said. “That is alarming to us as a society, because basically what they’re doing is succession planning… ensuring that crime is not abated in this country.”
