Houston businessman claims Russian oligarch tried to steal his drone Co-founder of Droneworks Studios gets into a tussle in the middle of the Caribbean

Co-founder of Droneworks Studios Co-founder of Droneworks Studios Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Houston businessman claims Russian oligarch tried to steal his drone 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Justin Oakes, co-founder of the Houston-based company Droneworks Studios, found out the hard way that the products with which he makes his living aren't always welcome. Unknown persons on a yacht he says is owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich used an anti-drone device to try and bring down one of his personal drones.

The incident happened in December, but Oakes released a video of the incident on Thursday. Oakes and his wife, company co-founder Elaine Oakes, were vacationing on the Caribbean island of St. Bart's and were having fun with friends on a small cruise ship. After spotting Abramovich's luxury yacht, named Eclipse, Oakes decided to fly his DJI Phantom drone toward the yacht to get a better view.

That's when things got interesting. He began to lose control of the drone and saw someone onboard the Eclipse with "a cannon-looking device" pointed at his drone.

Oakes was able to break his drone free from Eclipse's control and maneuver it back to his boat. He says it underscores the need for drone pilots not to be reckless. "The key is to fly responsibly, safely...Don't fly into things that you're not supposed to," he said in a statement. "If you ever see that boat, stay away from it because it will snatch your things."

One of those on board Oakes' boat was YouTube personality Casey Neistat who tweeted, "This is amazing. My friend at @DroneworksUSA shares the story of when a Russian billionaire tried to steal his drone mid-flight. I WAS WITH HIM WHEN IT HAPPENED. Totally wild experience."

TheDrive.com, a site devoted to high-end transportation and technology, editorialized, "Whether or not Abramovich has a counter-UAS system that serves as part of his yacht's security ecosystem is unclear -- but it only makes sense. The billionaire is surely adamant about privacy like anyone else, but with much more to protect. The idea that billionaires would forego the protection of their airspace from the increasingly ubiquitous hobby (or surveillance) drone seems unlikely. It looks like Oakes did, indeed, unexpectedly experience a counter-drone system that left him unable to control his device."

In other words, be careful out there.

Watch the video here.