Quebec Prison Drone Delivers McDonald’s and Alcohol to Inmate

A drone delivered a McDonald’s meal of chicken nuggets, fries and dipping sauce, along with alcohol, to an inmate in the Special Handling Unit at Quebec’s Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines correctional facility.

The drone reportedly slipped through a gap between fencing and a cell window that had been broken from inside. Correctional officers found the inmate intoxicated during morning rounds, with remnants of the meal in the cell.

Security breach at Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines

The episode may sound absurd, but correctional officers say it points to a serious weakness in prison security.

Mike Bolduc, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said the inmate appeared to find the discovery amusing. “The inmate found that really funny in the morning when the guards did their rounds,” Bolduc said.

Staff did not share the joke.

“We’re at the breaking point where an inmate went and delivered himself McDonald’s,” Bolduc said. “What’s the next thing? Is that a loaded gun? You know, it’s scaring us, it’s really scaring us.”

He described the incident as a security failure at a facility intended to be among Canada’s most secure. “It’s supposed to be the most secure jail in Canada and he’s eating McDonald’s,” Bolduc said.

Cameras and technology missed drone

Union and other reports said exterior cameras and counter-drone or drone-detection measures did not detect or stop the aircraft before it reached the window.

Bolduc said the successful delivery suggested that whoever operated the drone had found a way around the existing technology. “So what happened here is that they beat the technology,” he said.

The union has pressed for a physical response, calling for rapid installation of netting or other barriers around vulnerable windows and areas where drones could approach inmates.

“It’s not harder than that,” Bolduc said. “This now has to be a cry for help saying that we need that netting as fast as possible.”

Frédérick Lebeau, national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said the food delivery should not distract from what could be carried in a future package. “It’s kind of a funny thing, the McNugget trio … but it could be worse. It could be firearm, it can be a ceramic knife,” he said.

CSC reviewing contraband delivery

Correctional Service Canada has confirmed the incident is under review or investigation, focusing on how the drone passed through security and delivered contraband.

Kevin Antonucci, a CSC spokesperson, said the introduction of contraband and unauthorized items into correctional institutions remains an important issue the agency continues to address.

“CSC continues to implement a multi-layered approach that includes staff vigilance, security intelligence activities, searches, detection technologies and collaboration with police and other partners,” Antonucci said.

CSC has also said it is implementing physical mitigation measures, including nets, at the facility.

Union warns drones could deliver weapons

Union leaders say the concern is not the meal itself, but the route it exposed: a drone reaching a cell window despite security measures intended to prevent contraband from entering.

They have warned that the same vulnerability could be used to bring weapons or other dangerous items into the institution, putting correctional staff, inmates and the public at risk.

“I’m scared for Canadians, for their security,” Bolduc said.

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