Vulture, eagle and sparrowhawk chicks hatch from the rare bird eggs which were found strapped to chest of the now-jailed smuggler known as the 'Pablo Escobar of the egg trade'

International Centre for Birds of Prey reared the 17 chicks Jeffrey Lendrum stole

Former Rhodesian SAS soldier was caught at Heathrow Airport on June 27, 2018

Birds are now fully grown and should be able to breed, conservationists believe

Lendrum was jailed for three years and one month at Snaresbrook Crown Court 

By RORY TINGLE FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 10:59, 12 February 2019 | UPDATED: 12:21, 12 February 2019

A rescue centre has hatched vulture, eagle and sparrowhawk chicks from £100,000 worth of rare bird eggs found strapped to the chest of a now-jailed smuggler known as the 'Pablo Escobar of the egg trade'.

The International Centre for Birds of Prey hand-reared 17 chicks after their eggs were seized from smuggler Jeffrey Lendrum by customs officers at Heathrow Airport on June 27, 2018.

He had attempted to smuggle them from South Africa strapped to his chest in a sling hidden beneath a heavy coat.

His haul included three Cape vultures, which became an endangered species in 2015, five African fish eagles, eight African black sparrowhawks and two African hawk-eagles.

Conservationists at the rescue centre in Newent, Gloucestershire, have now successfully raised them into young adults.

They plan to breed them with the aim of releasing their offspring back into the wild.

Director Jemima Parry-Jones said: 'On June 26 we had a call from customs saying they had stopped someone at Heathrow with 19 fertile eggs strapped to his body.

'Two had already hatched by the time we got there and one black sparrowhawk had broken in Lendrum's body pouch.

'An African fish eagle died three days after hatching due to a yolk infection so we were left with 17 birds altogether.

'We collected them in a portable incubator and brought them back to an incubator at the centre until they started to hatch.'

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