A police raid in the Vila Irma Dulce favela in Brazil’s Piauí state led to an unexpected discovery — a parrot trained by drug traffickers. Authorities say the bird was used to alert gang members to the presence of law enforcement near their operational area.
A veterinarian who examined the bird after it was seized noted that it remained silent and uncooperative with authorities. Despite numerous officers approaching the animal, it reportedly made no sounds that could incriminate its owners.
According to police reports, the parrot would shout “Mom, the police!” whenever it spotted approaching officers, giving gang members time to conceal their activities before law enforcement arrived.
Piaui police put an end to the parrot’s days as a “hawk.” This is how local law enforcement refers to those who are watchers for drug dealers in the city. The bird has been moved to the Teresina Zoo, where it will undergo a three-month retraining program to regain its ability to fly. After this period, it will be released back into the wild.
In 2019, Brazilian police seized a parrot that had been trained to warn drug dealers of police raids by shouting, “Mamãe, polícia!” (meaning “Mama, police!”)
The parrot refused to cooperate with them pic.twitter.com/mwoVjCcDQU
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The bird was seized during a raid in the house of its owner, a woman known as “La India,” who had previous drug-dealing-related charges. Local police conducted a raid on the house after witnessing a man purchasing drugs outside the residence. The operation also resulted in the arrest of “La India’s” husband, Edvan, who was found in possession of four packages of crack at the time of his arrest.
So far, the name of the bird has not been disclosed by local law enforcement. Brazilian media, however, has nicknamed the parrot as “Papagaio do Tráfic,” which translates to the “drug dealing parrot”.
This is not the first major report of an animal being used by Brazilian drug dealers. In 2008, Rio de Janeiro police revealed that two crocodiles were seized in the Core Favela, which were allegedly used to dispose of the bodies of rival gang members.
Witnesses of these reports revealed that the two animals were also used by the drug dealers to intimidate both rival gangs and the people who lived in the favela. Despite these claims, during the trial, the gang members claimed the reports were not true as the crocodiles refused to eat the bodies.
