Five protected birds were found in luggage at the airport thanks to a sniffer dog, the Customs Department said.

The discovery was made on Saturday but only announced today.

The luggage belonged to a man who had just arrived from Cairo via Frankfurt .

He was walking through the “Nothing to Declare” channel when the dog smelt something in his bag and the passenger was asked to pass it through the X-Ray machine.

The birds, whose importation is prohibited, were wrapped in four packets with carbon paper.

The police and the Environment Protection Department are investigating.

Customs officers at the airport earlier this month found 10,000 ecstasy pills in a man’s luggage, the biggest discovery of pills this year.