Prison authorities display a cat carrying a range of items including a small saw and a mobile phone taped to its body Reuters

Prison guards caught a cat carrying a mobile phone and a saw trying to walk through prison gates in north-east Brazil, it has emerged.

The guards saw the white cat walking towards them with tape wrapped around its back and stomach. When they looked closer they saw the cat was also carrying drills, an earphone, a memory card, batteries and a phone charger.

All 263 detainees in the prison of Arapiraca, a city of 215,000 people in the state of Alagoas, are considered suspects in the plot, which is being investigated by local police.

"It's tough to find out who's responsible for the action as the cat doesn't speak," a prison official told local paper Estado de S Paulo.

The cat was taken to an animal disease centre to receive medical care. The incident took place on New Year's Day but was first reported by national media on Saturday.