The parrot had apparently been trained to shout “mum, the police!” on spotting officers and was seized during a drug raid on Monday.

However, police in the north-eastern Brazilian community of Vila Irmã Dulce said it had not said a word since being apprehended, The Guardian reports.

One Brazilian journalist who visited the parrot in jail said he was “super obedient” but has been “completely silent” since being brought in.

Local vet Alexandre Clark added: “Lots of police officers have come by and he’s said nothing.”