A Briton, Dimitrije Dragovic, who conspired to smuggle drugs, mobile phones and other prohibited items into a prison using a drone, had his sentence increased from two years and two months to three years and four months.
Dragovic, of Thurnscoe, South Yorkshire, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court in February after pleading guilty to conspiring to transport prohibited articles into or out of prison and breaching a suspended sentence order.
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Attorney General Ellie Reeves subsequently referred his case to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentencing scheme, resulting in a longer sentence.
The court heard that police had tracked Dragovic during a surveillance operation in November 2025 as he traveled from his home to London to meet accomplices.
He later traveled to Suffolk, where he collected a bag from a car before heading to a field near the A143. After realizing he was being monitored, Dragovic abandoned the bag and fled across a river, but was eventually arrested with the help of police dogs.
The bag contained a drone capable of flying more than five kilometers, cannabis, tobacco, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet devices and charging equipment. HMP Highpoint prison was within flight range of the drone from where the bag was recovered.
Reeves said the conspiracy was a serious threat to prison security and noted that phones, drugs and drones could allow organized criminals to coordinate activities behind bars.
Dragovic’s sentence was increased to three years and four months by the Court of Appeal on August 19, 2026.
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