China’s war on drugs gained an unlikely new foot soldier on Tuesday when a wild elephant found a wad of opium hidden in the underbrush of a forest in south-western Yunnan province.

A video circulating on Chinese social media platform Weibo shows a band of four Asian elephants ambling through a cleared path in the woods. One of them suddenly breaks away from the pack, seemingly intrigued by something in the undergrowth.

Placidly and professionally, the mammal sweeps the ground with its trunk several times before tossing up a nondescript black rucksack, trumpeting as it announces its discovery.

Border police were already on the scene. The officers had arrived to escort the elephants out of a nearby village, reported China National Radio (CNR).

Mindful of their primary duty, police waited till the elephants had made their safe exit before inspecting the elephant’s “gift”, reported CNR. The elephant did not disappoint.

Footage from CNR shows police opening the bag to find a tightly bound brick of opium, buried under layers of clothes. Police investigations are ongoing.

The elephant’s “drug-busting operation” has amassed over 200 million views on Weibo as of Tuesday morning and charmed netizens are now hailing the helpful animal as a “secret agent”.

“Looks like elephants have incredibly sensitive noses,” said one Weibo user.

“I’m worried drug lords will go after elephants in revenge,” said another. “Let’s protect them well.”

The ripple effects this incident might have on the job security of sniffer dogs are as yet unknown. As one user put it: “Doesn’t that mean we can train elephants to sniff out drugs in exchange for snacks?”