This is the moment police caught a 'narco kitten' that was carrying 300 grammes of drugs into a prison in Costa Rica.

Officers were conducting a routine perimeter patrol when they spotted the moggie with a suspicious bulge on its back at the Pococi Penitentiary on May 6.

Footage shows a cop catching the cat as it was walking on the prison fence.

The black-and-white cat was carried into the prison, where staff used scissors to carefully cut open the bundle on its back. They were shocked to find two packages stuffed with cocaine and cannabis.

In a statement, the Ministry of Justice and Peace said: 'Thanks to the swift actions of the responding officers, the cat was caught and the packages removed, preventing them from reaching their final destination.

'Upon inspection, one contained 235.65 grammes of apparent marijuana and the other 67.76 grammes of apparent crack cocaine paste and two sheets of paper for making tickets.'

Authorities said the drugs were seized for processing, while the unwitting feline smuggler was handed over to the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) for further care.

Police believe prisoners intended to lure the cat inside with food before taking the drugs it was carrying.

The incident comes amid a spate of smuggling attempts in prisons in recent weeks.

The Justice Ministry reported on May 8 that marijuana, cell phones, phone chips, knives, and drug paraphernalia were confiscated in the Reforma jail, while similar drugs and weapons were also seized at the San Carlos Prison.

Pablo Escobar was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who became one of the most powerful and dangerous criminals in history.