Inside Prison's Stitched-Up Rats, All This

Those aiming to sneak contraband into a UK prison assumed guards wouldn't inspect dead rats. Too bad the guards at Guys March prison in Dorset, England, noticed stitches over the bellies of three animals, believed to have been thrown over a prison wall. Inside, reports Reuters, were five cellphones and chargers, three SIM cards, cannabis, a synthetic version of pot, tobacco, cigarette papers, and cash. The Guardian shares a Ministry of Justice photo of a hollowed-out rat full of individually-wrapped parcels.

"This find shows the extraordinary lengths to which criminals will go to," according to Britain's prisons minister, Rory Stewart. He adds the case "underlines why our work to improve security is so important." A report last year found the 384 male prisoners at Guys Marsh have "easy access" to phones and "make calls at times to suit themselves," per Sky News. The outlet notes cases of drugs and cellphones found in prisons in England and Wales have spiked 23% and 15%, respectively, in recent years. (A T-shirt gun and football have also been used.)