A pigeon smuggling cocaine and cannabis into a prison in Costa Rica has been caught by guards. The bird was seen landing in the central concourse of the medium security La Reforma jail, in San Rafael de Alajuela, where it was taken into custody. The drugs were contained in a small zipped up pouch strapped to the animals chest.
The guards spotted the bird on Tuesday afternoon as it flew towards an open area of the medium security La Reforma prison. Prison director Paul Bertozzi said: ‘They observed the bulge on the animal so they captured it and confirmed that it carried a bag with zipper – and the drugs were inside… It seems the dove was trained for it.’
The pigeon was examined by experts at the ZooAve Animal Rescue Centre who said the bag it was carrying caused some damage to its digestive system.
A mugshot of the bird, caught by security officers and taken into custody, was released by Costa Rica’s Department of Justice and Peace as a warning to be vigilant for Narcopalomas.
Narcopalomas, loosely translated as ‘drugs doves’, have been used by prisoners and their accomplices in the past– similar birds have been caught in prisons in Colombia, Argentina and even Bosnia.
Mr Bertozzi said the pigeon was “nothing new” and that drug traffickers were using “unimaginable ways to achieve their macabre atrocities”.
