A Canadian prison in Abbotsford, British Columbia, caught a pigeon in late December being used to smuggle drugs. Officials said the small bird was wearing a “backpack” containing a “fairly substantial” amount of methamphetamines.
John Randle, the Pacific regional president of the Union for Canadian Correctional Officers, said guards at the Pacific Institution were standing in one of the fenced inmate yards when they spotted a bird with a small package tied to its back.
“From my understanding, it was tied to it in a similar fashion as like a little backpack,” Randle said, according to CBC News. “You can imagine how that would look, trying to catch a pigeon,” he said, adding that after chasing the bird around for a while, the guards eventually captured it.
After removing the package from the bird, they freed it and found about 30 grams of crystal meth inside, CBC reported. “It’s definitely scary with the fact that it was crystal meth that was found on the bird because that causes a whole lot of problems,” Randle said. (RELATED: Texas Flight Attendant Pleads Guilty To Drug Smuggling Charge)
Randle noted that prisons have recently cracked down on drones being used to drop drugs and other contraband into prisons. If drug smugglers are training birds to do the same, it could present a unique problem.
“We’ve been focusing so much on drone interdiction … now we have to look at I guess pigeons again,” Randle said. “It’s a bit of a reality check for us that that the creativity that people are going to use to try and smuggle drugs and other contraband into the institution is multifaceted.”
Corrections Canada told CBC that they are investigating the incident.