Falcon smuggling attempt thwarted in Karachi

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): An attempt to smuggle dozens of endangered falcons worth more than a million dollars out of Pakistan has been foiled.

Customs officials claimed on Saturday seizing 75 falcons and a houbara bustard near Karachi in an anti-smuggling operation.

Senior customs officer Mohammad Saqif Saeed told AFP: “The birds are listed as rare and endangered species and their trade is strictly banned.”

Without identify the species, he estimated their value of the birds at about Rs200m (over $1m) on the black market.

Two suspects were arrested, as the relevant authorities plan to release the birds into the wild.

The birds were being smuggled from Afghanistan to Arab countries. The meat of the houbara bustard, perceived as an aphrodisiac, is in great demand in the Middle East.

mud

Views: 14