Ontario duo caught trying to smuggle drugs into prison

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A man and woman from Ontario who allegedly tried to smuggle drugs into a maximum-security federal prison are now facing three charges each.

The RCMP issued a news release Tuesday saying 23-year-old Tay-Shan Stevenson and 29-year-old Marisa Linscott-Wiltshire were each charged Nov. 14 in Miramichi provincial court with obstructing a peace officer, unlawfully distributing illicit cannabis, and unlawful trafficking of methamphetamine.

Both were remanded into custody, police said. Linscott-Winshire returned to court Nov. 17 and was released on conditions. Stevenson also appeared in court the same day, and a bail hearing was set for Tuesday morning.

Sgt. Jason LeBlanc said police received a report from a correctional officer at Atlantic Institution in Renous on Nov. 11 at around 9 p.m. of an individual or individuals attempting to deliver drugs to the facility using a drone.

“A short time later, police received a second report from an employee at the facility who observed the drone on a security camera,” LeBlanc said in the release.

“At approximately 9:45 p.m., police stopped a suspicious vehicle that had been observed near the correctional facility, and arrested both the driver and the passenger.”

LeBlanc said officers searched the vehicle after the arrests and seized a drone controller and several electronic devices. He said the drone crashed on the prison grounds and was also seized, along with a package containing what’s believed to be methamphetamine, cannabis, and other illicit drugs that were attached to the drone.

LeBlanc said the investigation remains ongoing.