Nearly two months after packages containing more than $1 million in illicit drugs and other contraband were seized at the Springhill Institution in Nova Scotia, more information is trickling out. In an email to CTV News Tuesday, the Nova Scotia RCMP said charges have been laid for the first time in a drug-related drone drop at the federal medium security institution. The case was first brought to the public’s attention Sept. 23 when the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) sent out a news release saying packages containing contraband worth an estimated institutional value of $1,161,500 were seized at the Springhill Institution two days prior. The packages contained methamphetamine, shatter, cannabis, hashish, tobacco and cellphones. CTV News reached out to the CSC for more information, but a spokesperson would not elaborate on whether anyone was arrested, if charges were laid or if a drone had delivered the packages. On Monday, RCMP told CTV news two men had been charged in the case on Oct. 21. The Mounties say Patrick Ian Myers, 41, of Fredericton, and Owen Watt, 25, of Durham Bridge, N.B., are facing charges of: The Cumberland County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit, which includes members of the Cumberland County District RCMP and the Amherst Police Department, were involved in this investigation. No court dates have been announced at this time. Another seizure The Sept. 21 events at Springhill happened three weeks prior to another major seizure. This one occurred on Oct. 14 at the Atlantic Institution in Renous, N.B., a maximum-security federal prison. Packages containing crystal methamphetamine, hashish, tobacco, marijuana, shatter, edged weapons, USB card readers, SIM cards, as well as cellphones and accessories, were seized by staff. The estimated institutional value of these seizures is $521,500. Institutional value means the amount of money the smuggled drugs, tobacco or other contraband are worth inside a penitentiary, rather than what it would cost outside or in a retail setting. The New Brunswick RCMP tells CTV News a drone is believed to have been used in that instance. There is no word on any arrests at this point. Other drone drops The Springhill Institute has been the target of a number of attempts to smuggle illegal contraband into the facility by drone. Until this case, no arrests have been reported. Among those attempts, on May 17, 2025, packages worth $410,000 of drugs and electronics were dropped on the grounds of the facility. On May 14, 2024, the CSC staff seized $475,000 in contraband involving two different methods of smuggling, including contraband dropped by a drone. A package was found after a drone was seen flying in the area in the early morning hours of that day. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
