Guards thought there was something suspicious about a little white cat slipping through a prison gate in north-eastern Brazil.

A prison official said that when they caught the animal, they found a mobile phone, drills, small saws and other contraband taped to its body.

Alagoas state prisons spokeswoman Cinthya Moreno said the cat was caught at the medium-security prison in the city of Arapiraca.

The O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported that all of the prison's 263 inmates are suspects in the smuggling attempt.

A prison spokesman said: "It will be hard to discover who is responsible since the cat does not speak."

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