BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
VAN LEAR — A significant police operation unfolded in Stoney Brook Estates on New Route 3 Thursday morning. Residents awakened to a large police presence as law enforcement swooped in to intercept a drone transporting a substantial quantity of contraband.
According to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Department representative, the cargo primarily consisted of cell phones and cigarettes believed to be en route to the nearby United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord.
Law enforcement apprehended both the drone and the contraband on-site.
Specific details surrounding the incident remain scarce. However, residents described seeing a man, later identified as Andre Manning, 33, of Dublin, Georgia, being taken into custody. Kentucky State Police troopers and Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies reportedly surrounded Manning.
KSP special operations officer Sam Reed subsequently arrested the suspect on a single charge of trafficking marijuana.
Police cordoned off the area of the detainment and secured the drone under a portable tent to preserve the scene for inspection by state and federal officers.
The Kentucky State Police has not provided an official statement on the matter. More details will be provided as this developing story unfolds.
