Protected birds seized at airport

A suitcase full of song birds and protected species, including birds of prey, was intercepted by Customs officers at the airport yesterday, the Customs enforcement unit said.

A Maltese passenger who had just flown in from Tunis was stopped by a Customs officer as the man had just gone through the Green Channel meaning he had nothing to declare.

The alert Customs officer became suspicious of the suitcase the man was carrying. After x-raying the suitcase, it resulted that it contained a whole load of birds, only a few of which were alive.

The cargo consisted of green finches, serins, linnets, a flamingo, herons, barn owls, mallards and a Mediterranean shearwater.

The passenger was handed over to the police administrative law enforcement unit which is investigating the case.

In a separate sting operation, the Customs enforcement unit raided a number bars and in a Marsa bar officers confiscated Rothmans Blue and Rothmans Royals cigarettes on which excise duty had not been paid.

The case is under investigation.