Wednesday,
September 12, 2018, 19:45 by Ivan Martin
Maltese
link to Carabinieri-led investigation announced by Europol
Carabinieri-led
investigations saw two suspects involved in poaching and trafficking of
endangered bird species, identified and prosecuted in Italy.
A
recently arrested Italian gang of bird smugglers are believed to have been
involved in bringing protected species to Malta.
Maltese
police sources told the Times of Malta that the country was a known
destination for smuggled bird species, and a recently uncovered racket in Italy
was believed to have ties to the island.
Europol announced
on Tuesday that Carabinieri-led investigations had seen two suspects involved
in poaching and trafficking of endangered species of birds identified and
prosecuted in Italy.
The
Italian police said the two were involved in collecting nests and protected
birds in the central region of Lazio to later sell them on the illegal market.
Meanwhile,
a Maltese police source said that while the group were believed to have mostly
supplied birds to continental European countries like Germany, they were also
linked to other gangs in southern Italy through a wide-ranging black market
network that had supplied birds to Malta.
Europol
said the operation had resulted in over 50 protected species of birds being
rescued, some of which so young that were still featherless, including
hawfinches, jackdaws, goldfinches and serins.
Among
them were 15 European roller birds, migratory birds with blue feathers, which
are protected under national and international legislation and so cannot be
hunted.
Once
collected, the birds were sold on the clandestine market at prices from €500
for a roller, €200 to €300 for a kestrel, €150 for a hawfinch and €30 to €80
for a goldfinch.
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