Inmates at Russia's prisons have been known to bribe guards to obtain cellphones. But using cats as couriers?

The cat with cellphones taped to its body was found on Friday at Penal Colony No. 1 near the city of Syktyvkar in the Komi province, 1,000 kilometres northeast of Moscow. (Associated Press)

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

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

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

This isn't the first time a cat has been used to get smuggled goods into a jail.

Earlier this year, guards at a prison in northeastern Brazil saw a suspicious white cat slip through a gate. When officers caught the animal, they discovered it had a cellphone, drills, small saws and other contraband taped to its body.