Year One Behind Bars: The Legacy of UK's Top Drone Smugglers

It has been approximately a year since Sajad Hashimi, 27, and his wife, Zerka Maranay, 28, were handed prison sentences for orchestrating the UK’s most extensive drone-based prison smuggling network. Today, the London couple remains behind bars, serving their time for a sophisticated criminal operation that exposed a critical vulnerability in correctional security.

The sentencing, which took place roughly a year ago, saw the couple convicted for masterminding an enterprise that involved over 100 drone incursions into 11 different UK prisons and young offender institutions between August 2022 and October 2023.

Sajad Hashimi, the pilot from Compayne Gardens, Camden, who carried out at least 78 smuggling flights, is currently serving a sentence of six years and one month. His activities, which involved dropping packages of drugs (including heroin and steroids), mobile phones, and other contraband into cell windows, were concentrated heavily on HMP Onley near Daventry.

Zerka Maranay, who managed the logistics—renting at least 20 vehicles and laundering nearly £50,000 in criminal profits—received a sentence of one year and three months for her role in the conspiracy and money laundering.

The case provided a stark wake-up call to the Prison Service, demonstrating how easily sophisticated technology can bypass traditional perimeter security. The flood of illegal items the couple supplied—which fuels violence and debt behind bars—has intensified the focus on implementing anti-drone technology and robust detection systems at prisons nationwide.

Their convictions serve as a landmark case in the fight against aerial contraband, solidifying a tougher stance on the use of drones in facilitating organised crime within the prison estate.