Cat caught smuggling Class A drugs into Costa Rican prison

Guards were suspicious of grey patches on the animal's fur.

A "narco cat" was spotted by guards at the Pococi Penitentiary on May 6 after they grew suspicious of grey patches on its fur.

It turned out that they were right to be suspicious, as the grey patches were bags filled with narcotics - including a bag containing 236 grams of marijuana, and another containing 86 grams of crack cocaine. 

Videos shared to the country's Ministry of Justice's Facebook page show the moment that guards spotted the feline in the trees.

It also shows authorities carefully removing the drugs from the feline.

The cat was handed over to the National Animal Health Service for an evaluation, while authorities seized the narcotics.

According to the Free Press Journal, it is common for animals to be used to smuggle drugs into Costa Rican prisons.

Prisoners often attempt to lure them in with food once the drugs have been attached to them by someone on the outside.

Four years ago, authorities in Panama caught a cat smuggling a large quantity of drugs into a prison, according to the Daily Mail.

The cat was stopped outside the Nueva Esperanza jail, which houses more than 1,700 prisoners, in the Caribbean province of Colon, north of the capital, Panama City, back in 2021.

Andres Gutierrez, head of the Panama Penitentiary System, said: "The animal had a cloth tied around its neck", which contained  wrapped packages of white powder, leaves and "vegetable matter".

They were likely cocaine, crack and marihuana, another official said.