In the early hours of yesterday morning a 45-year-old man from San Gwann was apprehended at the Malta International Airport carrying carcasses of protected birds – spoonbills, little terns and Senegal tickney.
The man was deemed suspicious as he passed through customs after disembarking a flight from Cairo at around 5am yesterday morning.
The Customs Enforcement Unit was carrying out routine inspections and asked to search the man’s luggage.
The search gave negative results but the bird carcasses were found after the customs officials carried out a personal search.
The birds found are protected species.
Most of the carcasses were kept sealed due to future court proceedings.
As a result, the exact number of birds the man was carrying could not be confirmed.
However, there could not have been more than 10 since the man was carrying the carcasses himself.
Administrative Law Enforcement officials were informed of the find and are due to continue investigating.