BISHOPVILLE, S.C. (AP) — ’Twas three weeks before Christmas, and in the prison yard, a drone-dropped package was found by a guard.
With steak, weed and crab legs, and cigarettes for days. And to season it all, a tin of Old Bay.
The illicit meal was dropped into the Lee Correctional Institution prison yard by a drone, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said on the social platform X with the hashtag #ContrabandChristmas.
A photo from the Bishopville prison showed a raw steak still in the grocery store packing, crab legs and Old Bay with side plastic baggies of marijuana and a couple of cartons of cigarettes. The drone was also seized Sunday morning, authorities said.
Prison officials said they are investigating and no arrests have been made.
“I’m guessing the inmates who were expecting the package are crabby,” prisons spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said.
Keeping contraband out of state prisons is a constant battle. People would toss or use a catapult to get packages of cellphones, drugs or other illegal items over the perimeter fence until officials raised the fences and added netting at the top.
People trying to smuggle things behind bars moved on to drones, leaving corrections officials to constantly patrol the prison yard and just outside for the tiny aircraft trying to drop packages.
Just flying a drone near a prison in South Carolina is a misdemeanor crime that carries up to 30 days in jail. Dropping contraband into the prison is a felony that can land someone behind bars for 10 years.
In this undated photo released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections, items dropped by a drone into the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, S.C., are seen. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
In this undated photo released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections, items dropped by a drone into the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, S.C., are seen. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
In this undated photo released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections, items dropped by a drone into the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, S.C., are seen. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
Red Bull's influential auto racing adviser Helmut Marko is retiring from his role at the age of 82, ending a 20-year stint in which he helped Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen develop into four-time Formula 1 champions.
Marko's departure leaves Red Bull without the two main guiding personalities from its 2005 entry into F1 after longtime team principal Christian Horner was ousted in July and replaced by Laurent Mekies. Another key figure, car design great Adrian Newey, left Red Bull earlier this year and will head up Aston Martin in 2026.
Marko leaves after Verstappen missed out on winning a fifth title at last week's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Narrowly missing out on the world championship this season has moved me deeply and made it clear to me that now is the right moment for me personally to end this very long, intense, and successful chapter,” Marko said in a statement.
"I wish the entire team continued success and am convinced that they will be fighting for both world championship titles again next year.“
An F1 driver in the early 1970s before he was blinded in one eye when a rock pierced his helmet visor, Marko was an influential figure in team politics — especially when Verstappen's confidence in the team seemed shaken earlier this year — and he was close to his fellow Austrian, Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022.
Marko's blunt style and criticism of drivers sometimes led to controversy. In 2023, he apologized to then-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez for comments which suggested his Mexican heritage was to blame for inconsistent results on the track.
On behalf of the wider Red Bull corporate group, Marko oversaw its driver development program for two decades. He guided drivers such as Verstappen and Vettel through junior series to F1 debuts with Red Bull's second team, variously known over the years as Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls.
Former Red Bull junior drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were both largely uncompetitive this year alongside Verstappen, and another graduate of the program, Isack Hadjar, has been promoted to that role for next year.
Red Bull said Tuesday that 20 drivers had reached F1 after being part of Red Bull's junior program at some stage of their careers, including British rookie Arvid Lindblad, who will make his debut in 2026 with Racing Bulls.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Former driver Helmut Marko talks with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen during the first qualifying session at the Lusail International Circuit ahead of the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix, in Lusail, Qatar, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
