Police have shot dead a pigeon carrying prescription drugs and marijuana into a prison in Argentina. The bird was spotted approaching the prison in the central city of Santa Rosa by officers who were on the lookout after similar smuggling attempts.

Police found a small pouch strapped to the bird which contained 44 pills of sedatives Rivotril and Clonazepam, 3.5 grams of marijuana mixed with pills and four grams of compacted marijuana. It also contained a USB stick.

In this latest attempt, they released the bird on the day of a local pigeon-fanciers event, hoping it would be hard for police to spot it among the other birds.