Colorado Men Tried to Use Cannon to Smuggle Drugs Into Prison by Launching Items Over Security Fence: Police

Two Colorado men were arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into a Louisiana federal prison by launching the contraband over a security fence with a professionally manufactured cannon.

Authorities in Grant Parish, Louisiana, began investigating a smuggling operation targeting the U.S. Penitentiary Pollock, a high-security federal prison, according to the Grant Parish Sheriff's Office.

The suspects, Jose Francisco Herrera Munoz, 18, and Angel Gonzales Gutierrez, 19, allegedly planned to use a compressed-air cannon to send $112,000 worth of tobacco and $89,500 worth of methamphetamine into the facility.

Before the operation could be carried out, an observant deputy intervened, preventing the contraband from entering the prison.

The suspects were arrested and charged with attempting to introduce contraband into a penal institution and attempting to distribute methamphetamine. Authorities confirmed that the cannon, capable of shooting items over 350 feet, was professionally manufactured.

Both men remain in custody, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on Munoz, who is reportedly in the country illegally.