Gangs drop drugs into prisons using drones that can carry the weight of a bowling ball

At HMP Manchester, prisoners ripped the element out of their boiler and burned a hole in the perspex windows of their cells so drones could fly in and deliver medicineand cell phones, which are used to coordinate the flow of drugs.

Mr Taylor said crime gangs were targeting the lucrative prison drugs market, with almost four in 10 prisoners testing positive.

Gangs can make huge profits by selling drugs in prisons, where prices can be four to 10 times the street value.

“What we are seeing is the prison service taking on sophisticated organized crime, which is making huge profits from this,” Taylor said.

“Even if they lose a lot of shipments because they are found or picked up, there is still a huge amount of money to be made.

“Some prisons are mainly targeted by large and powerful drones that can carry a large payload.”

Due to the drug crisis in prisons, up to three-quarters of prisoners have tested positive.

The positive test rate for prisoners at HMP Hindley, near Wigan, peaked at 77 percent earlier this year, while other prisons report that more than half of their inmates have been caught using drugs.

Speaking at the Association of Prison Governors’ annual conference this month, Mr Taylor said: “In too many prisons, attempts to thwart supply are failing and drones are becoming increasingly sophisticated. A lack of resources is often a key barrier, and we make this clear in many of our reports.

“Drug abuse continues to contribute to violence on the estate, threatening the stability of many prisons and affecting the safety of prisoners and staff.”

‘Time for real, scalable defense mechanisms’

Ministers are being urged to consider ‘jamming’ technology to jam drones, similar to those deployed in Guernsey, where a 600-metre virtual shield around the prison detects remote-controlled drones. It then uses sensors to jam the drones’ systems, forcing them to retreat.

Rick Gill, CEO of Drone Defense, the company behind the technology, said current safety measures are failing.

“It is time for the government to implement real, scalable defense mechanisms across the UK prison complex,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “The prisons were in crisis of the previous government and figures like these show the need for strong action to regain control of the situation.

“Staff have worked hard with police to stop drones and bring the criminals responsible to justice.

“But it is clear that we need to do more and we will announce further measures in due course so that prisons become better citizens, not better criminals.”