AN Irish man will appear in court today in the UK charged with attempting to smuggle 19 eggs from rare and endangered bird of prey.
Jeffrey Paul Lendrum was arrested by Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport on 26 June last.
The 56-year-old, who had been living in Johannesburg, South Africa, had eggs in his possession were from African fish eagles, African sparrow hawks and vultures.
Two of the eggs had already hatched at the time of the seizure.
Mr Lendrum was charged with importing endangered species yesterday, and is due to appear before Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court today.
Many of the eggs recovered have since hatched, and the birds are being cared for at a specialist bird of prey conservation centre.
