Cat Entering Prison... Caught Red-Handed Smuggling Drugs

Prisoner Uses Food to Lure Cat

On the 16th, a cat entering Nueva Esperanza Prison in Col?n Province along the Caribbean coast of Panama had a cloth pouch suspected to contain drugs tied to its body. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A white-furred cat transporting drugs was caught near a prison on the Caribbean coast of Panama.

According to AFP and other sources on the 19th, on the 16th, near the Nueva Esperanza prison in Col?n Province, central Panama, a cat was seen wandering around with several suspicious white cloth pouches attached to its body.

Authorities, who initially tried to ignore the cat but sensed something suspicious, caught the cat and were shocked when they opened the pouches.

The pouches were filled with a white powder suspected to be drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.

The Panamanian prosecution announced that they caught a cat outside the Nueva Esperanza prison attempting to enter with drug pouches tied to its body.

It is presumed that someone tied drugs to the cat's body and released it nearby for inmates inside the prison.

The prison houses about 1,700 inmates.

Drugs that a cat carried on its body.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The prosecution stated that it appears someone tried to illegally smuggle drugs into the prison using an animal and has launched an investigation.

In Panama, attempts to use animals as drug couriers have been ongoing for some time.

Methods include attaching drugs to animals such as pigeons and bees and releasing them near prisons, where inmates lure them with food to obtain the drugs.

Meanwhile, the cat that failed in its drug transport attempt has been moved to an animal shelter and is waiting for a new owner.