Norwegian smugglers are getting smarter (well, sort of). The majority of drugs smuggled into Norway come in from Thailand and Eastern Europe. In the old days, drug traffickers would simply stuff their wares in envelopes and mail them to Norway. But after one package sat around, postage due, for too long, a Norwegian postal worker opened it, discovering the goodies hidden inside.

Since that incident, Norway has put the hammerlock on contraband sent through the mail. The recent crackdown has forced smugglers to take to the skies. Not with airplanes, but with carrier pigeons.

This unique approach almost worked, but smugglers failed to consider one minor detail: When they strapped a parcel to a pigeon's body, the additional payload was too heavy for the bird to carry it long distances. Yes, it sounds like a Monty Python sketch, but it's all too true.

The plan was foiled when a laden pigeon made a pit stop on an offshore oil platform. Workers captured the bird, and discovered it was carrying a hidden payload: five grams of hashish.

"We've never heard of anything like it," platform worker Endre Nodeland said. "Is this the new way of smuggling drugs?"

No arrests have been made, but platform workers have since adopted the pigeon and are hoping to help it mend its wicked ways.

Jeff Morris is a professional journalist who subscribes to The Highest Ethical Standards of Reporting, and other magazines, too.