Customs enforcement officers seized 22 skins of protected birds from two men who had just arrived on a flight from Rome on Tuesday evening, the Customs Department said yesterday.

The men were held by the police for questioning.

Customs officers on routine duty at the airport noted that two of the passengers went through the Blue Exit, which is reserved for passengers arriving from EU countries and who have nothing to declare. However, Customs said, the luggage the two men were carrying had tags indicating they were coming from a non-EU country. In fact, the two passengers had started their journey from Egypt where, according to the two passengers, they had bought the skins, the department said.

A search was conducted and a variety of skins was found. An official from the Environment Section certified that the skins were of protected bird species. These included a long-eared owl, a black-shouldered kite, an avocet, a red shank, a smyrna kingfisher, a purple gallinule, a pied kingfisher, a spur-winged plover and a great grey shrike.

The skins were confiscated and the case passed on to the police.