Body language gives bird smuggler away

A passenger who had just flown in from Cairo was either very muscular or was hiding something under his clothes, alert Customs officers at the airport's arrivals lounge reckoned yesterday.

So they decided to carry out a body search... and found a number of rare dead birds in plastic bags strapped to his torso and his thighs.

Officers from the Customs enforcement unit had been carrying out routine duties as passengers collected their luggage and passed through Customs clearance.

Sources close to Customs said the attention of officers on duty was caught by the "strapping" individual, a 45-year-old Maltese man from San Gwann, who had just arrived on Air Malta flight KM117 from Cairo at about 5 a.m.

They were particularly intrigued at the way he was moving and decided to investigate. They found nothing in his luggage but a body search turned up about 10 rare and protected birds strapped around different parts of his body.

The species included a spoonbill, little terns and a Senegal tickney.

Searches on other passengers arriving on the same flight from Cairo proved negative.

The suspect and the birds were handed over to the police from the administrative enforcement unit for further investigation.