Police ‘Arrest’ Drug Dealers’ Lookout Parrot

Police in Brazil have taken a parrot into custody following a raid to arrest crack dealers, according to media reports. Police in the village of
Vila Irmã Dulcein the northern part of the country reported that the parrot tipped off dealers by shouting “Mum, the police!” as officers approached.

“He must have been trained for this,” said a police officer who participated in the raid in the capital of Piauí state. “As soon as the police got close he started shouting.”

Arrested Parrot No Stool Pigeon

A Brazilian reporter who observed the parrot after it was confiscated said that the animal was “super obedient,” although it was apparently refusing to talk to police.

“So far it hasn’t made a sound … completely silent,” the reporter said.

A local veterinarian agreed that the bird was no stool pigeon.

“Lots of police officers have come by and he’s said nothing,” said Alexandre Clark.

Jailbreak Planned for Bird Behind Bars

Globo, a Brazilian broadcaster, reported that the “papagaio do tráfico” (drug trafficking parrot) had been turned over to a local zoo and would be released in the wild after spending three months learning how to fly.

Brazilian drug dealers have enlisted animal accomplices in the past, according to The Guardian. In 2008, after a raid at a favela in western Rio de Janeiro police seized two small alligators that local gangsters had purportedly fed their rivals to. But the father of one of the arrested criminals said the rumor wasn’t true. In fact, he said, the alligators had refused to eat a corpse that the gang had given to them.