The two were among 11 suspects arrested for alleged possession of stolen goods in the small South African town of Meyerton.

Officers who went to collect the pair from the holding cells in order to charge them found that they had disappeared.

Their cellmate dubiously claimed to police investigating their disappearance that the two suspects “made a strange like owl bird noise, turned into cats and they escaped while the gate was still locked”.

However, a senior police officer pointed out to City Press that it was “very suspicious” that the suspects waited until they were in the cells before turning into cats.

“That’s if they even became cats — because I suspect someone was paid for their unlawful release,” he added.

A number of officers involved in the incident are now facing disciplinary action, according to 90.6 FM News.