Pair arrested after second drone drop at Collins Bay Institution within a week

Illegal activity around the prison smack-dab in the middle of Kingston continues to keep local police and correctional officers busy, as a second pair of people have been arrested over drone activity at Collins Bay Institution.

At approximately 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, Kingston Police were contacted by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) after a staff member at Collins Bay Institution observed a drone being flown over the multi-level-security prison property. That CSC staff member subsequently located a vehicle in the area of 1600 Bath Road, which they believed may have been involved in the incident, Kingston Police shared in response to Kingstonist inquiries. The area of 1600 Bath Road is located directly across from Collins Bay Institution, where apartment buildings, a storage facility, and The Social YGK are located.

Kingston Police responded to the area and located the vehicle. Through the course of the ensuing investigation, officers determined that “the vehicle and its occupants were involved in the incident,” Constable Anthony Colangeli, Media Relations Officer for Kingston Police, said in an email.

“Police located and seized paraphernalia and materials associated to the incident, however no contraband was seized by police,” Colangeli said.

For its part, Collins Bay Institution confirmed that a drone drop occurred at the site, according to CSC Regional Communications Manager Michael Shrider, meaning that the two individuals located in the vehicle with related paraphernalia had allegedly already dropped a package of contraband.

“We are currently reviewing what was recovered,” Shrider said, noting that CSC expects to issue an official press release on the matter in the coming days.

As was the case with the two individuals arrested in relation to drone activity at Collins Bay Institution just three nights earlier, the pair accused in the drone drop on Wednesday evening are not local residents, according to police.

Kingston Police arrested both individuals Wednesday night. They were transported to Kingston Police Headquarters, where they were both held to attend a bail hearing, according to Colangeli. As a result, the pair were charged as follows.

A 22-year-old from Ottawa was charged with:

• Obstructing a peace officer
• Mischief under $5,000
• Failure to comply with a probation order
• Delivering contraband to an inmate

A 24-year-old from Gloucester (which is located just east of downtown Ottawa) was charged with:

• Mischief under $5,000
• Possession of a credit card obtained by an offence
•  Delivering contraband to an inmate