More than 400 protected finches were smuggled into the country from Sicily by an Italian man on board the Virtù Ferries catamaran early yesterday morning, Times of Malta has learnt.

He attempted to smuggle the birds in vegetable crates stacked on top of each other in his car but was arrested on arrival.

There was a delay in the investigation as the protected birds were still being kept in the crates at the offices of the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit until yesterday afternoon, as authorities attempted to identify a place to send them to.

Such smuggled birds are usually sent to quarantine but this procedure was meant to be stopped following the death of another 500 finches smuggled into the country last October.

Read more on Times of Malta.