Pictures of the bird were posted online under the title "drugs dove." (Sky News)

This bird took flying high to a whole new level.

Officials at La Reforma prison in San Rafael de Alajuelaa, Costa Rica, nabbed a homing pigeon as it brought a supply of drugs into the medium-security lockup's yard Tuesday, according to Sky News. The pigeon was caught before it could get to its intended recipient with the cargo of half an ounce of marijuana and cocaine, all tucked into a pouch attached to its chest, authorities said.

Local reports said that Costa Rica’s Ministry of Justice and Peace had a little fun with the “arrest,” dubbing the bird “narcopaloma” or "drug dove," and posing it for mug shots. Prison officials believe that the bird was trained by an inmate who was looking to use the narcotics.

"Drug traffickers are using unimaginable ways to achieve their macabre atrocities," Paul Bertozzi, director of the Penitentiary Police, told a Spanish news agency. "This 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 have come across the practice, it has previously been reported in Argentina and Colombia.

The bird was taken to a local zoo.

Click here for more from Sky News