Man caught smuggling pigeons in his trousers in Australia
Man caught smuggling pigeons in his trousers in Australia
Officials at Melbourne airport yesterday stopped a man with pigeons stuffed down his trousers as he tried to enter Australia. The 23 year old attempted to smuggle the birds in by wrapping them in newspaper and putting them down tights underneath his trousers during his flight from Dubai.
The passenger was apprehended as he returned from a
holiday in Dubai. Customs officials said that the man would have got away with it had they not discovered two eggs in his pocket and carried out a full body search, reports The Times.
Upon his return to
Australia, officers also found seeds in the man's money belt and an undeclared aubergine in his luggage. If he is charged with wildlife smuggling, the passenger faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of AU$110,000 (£49,312).
Richard Janeczko, national investigations manager for the customs service explained what happened at
Melbourne airport: "The man was taken to a private interview room and customs and border protection officers found he was wearing tights with a live pigeon concealed in each leg."
Australia is said to have some of the strictest customs laws in the world and is especially concerned about new animals or plant life being imported, since these could spread disease or threaten native species. "
Wildlife smuggling is not only cruel to the animals involved, it [also] poses a severe risk to the Australian environment and the health of the Australian community," said Janeczko.
The birds were not endangered, Janeczko added, and they have been given to the quarantine service along with the eggs and seeds in order to assess the health risk they pose.
This story was brought to you by holiday
lettings.co.uk, the UK's No.1 for holiday homes worldwide.
Related Stories
Australian couple served repossession papers through Facebook
New citizenship test for Australia
Tourists to be banned from Australian outback for summer
Asking price for Kylie's island retreat dropped
4 February 2009
Print this article
