A man who was arrested twice in a single month for attempting to smuggle drugs into prison now finds himself on the other side of the fence.
Appearing via video in a Bracebridge courtroom, Fabrice Ricourt-Casseus, 25, of Quebec pled guilty to possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking
Court heard that on Jan. 5, 2023, Bracebridge OPP received a call regarding a suspicious vehicle on Reay Road in Gravenhurst. A man reported that a drone had landed in his backyard and several men were now in the area searching with flashlights.
When police arrived they found a man, later identified as Ricourt-Casseus, with the controls for the drone. He initially did not comply with the police, court heard, but eventually he surrendered.
The drone was recovered and found to have a duct-taped package attached. Inside the package, the police found tobacco, pills and small telephones. On Ricourt-Casseus’s person, the police found 121g of cannabis, 198 pills believed to be metabolic steroids and 62.6 g of cocaine.
Police believed the drone was intended to be flown into one of the nearby correctional facilities.
Court heard that less than one month later Ricourt-Casseus was arrested again after attempting to smuggle drugs via drone into a different prison.
Crown Kim Miles said incidents of attempted smuggling at Muskoka’s correctional facilities are now becoming a weekly occurrence.
Ricourt-Casseus was sentenced to 21 months in custody.
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