Following drug smuggling incidents involving a cat and a dog, a pigeon is the latest animal involved in smuggling illegal substances into a Costa Rican prison.
On Aug. 12 at 2 pm, guards at La Reforma in San Rafael de Alajuela, Costa Rica, captured a bird with a small black bag attached to its chest. Fourteen grams of cocaine and 14 grams of cannabis were discovered in the bag.
According to Paul Bertozzi, the prison director, guards have noticed an unusual bulge on the animal as it made its way to the open area of the prison. After observing further, they decided to capture it and confirmed that bulge was indeed a zipped bag, Daily Mail reported.
The pigeon was sent to the ZooAve Animal Rescue Centre for a check-up and it was determined that carrying the pouch had partly damaged the animal's digestive system. The pigeon will be kept in quarantine for at least 40 days to prevent it from returning to its senders.
Narcopalomas, loosely translated as "drug doves", have been used by drug dealers in the past to send drugs to prisoners. Similar incidents have been noted in Colombia, Argentina, and Bosnia, The Independent reported.
Bertozzi noted that there was nothing new in the incident. Drug traffickers will find a thousand ways to push through with their illicit trade. Bertozzi added, "We have a warning that this method can be used again as it is not the first time in the history of La Reforma that a pigeon was detected with drugs."
Iguanas have also been used in the same manner.