Officials at the Huancayo prison in Peru caught a pigeon carrying more than 30g of marijuana into the prison in a bag tied around its neck.
Guards spotted the “narco pigeon” while it was drinking water from a puddle on the prison grounds.
South China Morning Post reported that Peru’s Public Ministry had been notified and was set to investigate the origin of the drugs and the bird.
“This pigeon was carrying active cannabis or marijuana inside a circular package made from a light-blue cloth,” said Colonel Edward Diaz, of the Peruvian National Police.
“We are carrying out the corresponding investigations … However, it can be assumed the pigeon was directed to the prison interior,” he said.
This is not the first time a pigeon has been used to smuggle drugs into a prison. In 2015, guards at La Reforma Penitentiary in Costa Rica bust a pigeon carrying cocaine and cannabis.
According to UK publication The Independent, narcopalomas (drugs doves) have been caught in other countries, including Colombia, Argentina and Bosnia.
Prison police director Paul Bertozzi said in the past, traffickers had also used cats and dogs to pass drugs on to prisoners.
IOL