RAWALPINDI: Customs officials intercepted an attempt to smuggle seven partridges to Manchester, United Kingdom, and arrested a British national in connecting with the attempt at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Friday.

Customs Deputy Collector Nagma Tehniet said the birds were concealed in small cages which had been packed into a suitcase. “The consignment had been cleared during the Airport Security Force security check and scan, but was intercepted by customs staff,” she said.

Ms Tehniet said check-in for a private airliner’s flight to Manchester was in process when customs officials spotted a passenger behaving suspiciously. She said the passenger, Amjad Mehmood, is a Jhelum resident. His baggage was searched by customs officials and seven partridges, three black and the remaining grey, were recovered.

“Black partridges have speaking abilities, while grey ones have the ability to fight other birds. Their value as assessed by officials from the wildlife department was over Rs500,000.” She added that the passenger denied he was smuggling the birds to Britain, claiming he was not aware of the laws.

Ms Tehniet said the passenger was travelling with the birds without a no-objection certificate from the concerned department, and a case has been registered against him under the customs act, while the birds were handed over to the wildlife department.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2016