SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Agents of the Civil Guard have proceeded to the arrest of four people and the investigation of another four, aged between 27 and 55 and all of them residing in the Canary Islands, for belonging to a criminal organization, crime of smuggling, crime against flora and fauna and the crime of animal abuse.
The action was carried out on November 25 by agents of the Civil Guard belonging to the Fiscal and Border Section of the Tenerife South Airport and agents of the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of Playa de las Américas.
After various investigations carried out by the Tax and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit (UDAIFF) of the Tenerife Sur Airport and the suspicions of the agents that there could be illegal trafficking of protected species on a flight, the agents identified a person by the attitude of nervousness that he showed, turning out to be true the suspicions of the researchers and recovering various birds, which is why the entire flight was inspected, which was destined for a European country.
With the control of the entire flight, the agents managed to identify all the members of the group, as well as the apprehension inside the checked luggage of a total of 119 birds (blue finches, royal finches and wild canaries) native to the Canary Islands. One of the recovered birds was already dead, due to the terrible transport conditions. In addition, a total of 23,540 euros in cash has been recovered.
The recovered birds have been transferred to the La Tahonilla Wildlife Recovery Center, many of them being in very poor condition due to the conditions in which they were transferred.
