Pigeon clipped for running drugs into Costa Rican prison

In Costa Rica, a pigeon was arrested by police for transferring drugs to a prison on Friday.

On Tuesday guards the La Reforma Penitentia, in San Jose, captured a bird that had 14 grams of cocaine and 14 grams of marijuana strapped to it in a little bag.

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Justice and Peace released the animal’s mugshot under the headline caption “narcopaloma“, meaning “drugs dove”, and listing the date of the animals detention.

Realidad7 reported the drugs had a street value of around £180 ($281).

Prison police director Paul Bertozzi told Spanish news agency Efe that the incident was unsurprising.

“In the past (the traffickers) have used cats and dogs to pass drugs to prisoners”.

Pablo Bertozzi, head of the prison police force, explained that the pigeon specifically flew to that wing, so the pouch’s contents “weren’t for delivery to just anyone”.

Orange might be the new black, but the narco pigeon went old school in its Zoo Ave mug shot, sporting traditional dark plumage.

Apparently not – it’s becoming more common to see homing pigeons being used as drug mules birds because they’re easy to train and have good navigation skills.

“Because of the way it came to us, it can never be freed”, a zoo worker told local media, adding that the bird was reluctant to eat, probably because it had become used to being hand-fed by one person. “Now it seems they are using pigeons to carry in their wares from the outside”.

As well as smuggling drugs and transporting hundreds of thousands of messages during wartime, pigeons have also been suspected of spying.