Cat detained on illegal mission at Russian prison

Moscow: Inmates at Russia's prisons have been known to bribe guards to obtain cellphones, but this may be the first time they have used a cat as an accomplice.

Guards patrolling a prison colony in Russia's north saw a cat on the fence and it seemed to be carrying something. On a closer look, they found a few cellphones and chargers taped to the cat's belly.

The federal prison service said on Monday that this happened on Friday at the Penal Colony No. 1 near the city of Syktyvkar in the Komi province, 1,000 kilometers (some 600 miles) northeast of Moscow.

It wasn't clear how the cat was supposed to drop off its loot.