SAO PAULO — Guards thought there was something suspicious about a little white cat slipping through a prison gate in northeastern Brazil. A prison official says that when guards caught the animal, they found a cellphone, drills, small saws and other contraband taped to its body.

Alagoas state prisons spokeswoman Cinthya Moreno says the cat was caught New Year’s Eve at the medium-security prison in the city of Arapiraca.

The O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported Saturday that all of the prison’s 263 inmates are suspects in the smuggling attempt, though it says a prison spokesman said, “It will be hard to discover who is responsible since the cat does not speak.”