Pigeon with meth backpack caught in B.C. prison yard, says officers’ union president

VANCOUVER – A prison union spokesman says a pigeon carrying a miniature backpack filled with drugs was captured last week at a B.C. correctional institution.

John Randle, Pacific regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, says the bird was apprehended at Pacific Institution in Abbotsford, 80 kilometres east of Vancouver.

He says the backpack contained crystal methamphetamine.

Randle says he was told by officers that the bird was spotted with its unusual cargo on Dec. 29 in a yard at the facility, and they set up a trap to catch it.

Davinder Aujla, an assistant warden at Pacific Institution, confirmed there was a “recent interception of contraband” at the facility and the matter is under investigation.

Randle says in recent years, prison officers have been on the lookout for drones carrying drugs and other contraband but it’s the first time in his 13 years as a corrections officer he’s heard of a live bird being used.

He says the case is an indication of how creative criminals are becoming smuggling drugs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.