About 14g of cocaine and at least the same amount of cannabis were inside, wrapped in plastic. 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. The drugs had a street value of around £180 ($281). Prison officials said they believe the drugs were destined for use by an inmate who may have trained the pigeon to act as a courier. Director of the Penitentiary Police, Paul Bertozzi, told Spanish news agency ‘Efe’ that it showed the need to be vigilant. “Drug traffickers are using unimaginable ways to achieve their macabre atrocities,” he said. “This (use of a pigeon) is nothing new. In the past (the traffickers) have used cats and dogs to pass drugs to prisoners. Now it seems they are using pigeons to carry in their wares from the outside.” Although it is the first time the Costa Rican authorities said they had come across the practice, it has previously been reported in Argentina in 2013 and Colombia in 2011. The pigeon was later taken to a zoo where it was expected to remain behind the bars of a cage. Biologist Oscar Ramirez told ‘Realidad7′ that pigeons can be trained to travel several miles with small loads. During the Second World War, more than 250,000 homing pigeons were used to transport messages between front line Allied troops and top brass, according to the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen Babagana
Monguno (rtd.) and the four Service Chiefs have vowed to end
Boko Haram insurgency in the North East sub-region of the
country.
Monguno made the declarations on Friday in Maiduguri, when
the Service Chiefs paid an official courtesy visit to Governor
Kashim Shettima of Borno State at the Government House.
The four other Service Chiefs, who were part of the visit included
the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj-Gen. Abayomi Gabriel
Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Maj-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Chief of
Air Staff, Air Marshal Baba Sadiq Abubakar; and the Inspector
General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase.
He said the most pressing issue in the country, was the Boko
Haram insurgency, and that was why President Muhammadu
Buhari had replaced all the Service Chiefs.
“In less than 24 hours after we were sworn in and decorated by
the President, we are here in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital
for the reassessment of military operations to end the
insurgency in three months”, said Monguno.
He assured the governor and the people of Borno State that the
Service Chiefs would not be found wanting.
“For us here in Maiduguri, to end this insurgency, we are to
assess all the military operational details that will facilitate
various ‘aerial and ground troops’ to fight Boko Haram to the
finish. This could be completed before we can launch a
consistent and rapid campaign against terror and terrorists
activities in the North East and the country at large,” Monguno
pledged.
He, however, noted that the military alone could not end
insurgency that had already claimed many people’s lives and
properties.
He said the victory over Boko Haram cannot be won, without
involving the larger society.
Responding, Governor Shettima said that the people had been
cooperating with the military and other security agencies to end
the Boko Haram insurgency.
“We are giving our unalloyed support and cooperation to all the
Service Chiefs committed to fighting this Boko Haram
madness”, he said.
On victims of insurgency, Shettima said: “We will continue to
work for the people by investing in education, so that our
children and future generations do not become another new set
of insurgents.
“If this Boko Haram madness comes to an end, your names will
be written in gold, and the country and its citizenry will be proud
of all of you here in Maiduguri”.