Customs officers find live Asian fighting birds in suitcases after smugglers flew them into Britain

Attempts to bring live fighting birds through a British airport in suitcases were 'astonishing', Border Force has said.

Two separate attempts to smuggle the birds into the UK were discovered at Leeds Bradford airport. They had been placed in individual wooden cages inside the cases.

Border Force said the smugglers tried to bring in nine grey francolin birds, which are native to South Asia and often bred for fighting.

Nine grey francolin birds were found smuggled in suitcases at Leeds Bradford airport by Border Force officials

The birds were hidden in wooden cages inside suitcases which arrived on flights from Islamabad

On both occasions they were hidden inside suitcases on flights arriving from Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

Four birds were found on May 4 and five on May 11. They were passed to environmental health officers from Leeds City Council before being put down. The council is now investigating the find.

A council spokesman said: 'Based on expert veterinary advice from Defra, the birds have been humanely destroyed to prevent any risk to public health.'

Sam Bullimore, Border Force assistant director at Leeds Bradford Airport, said: 'These were astonishing smuggling attempts, of a kind we have not seen before at Leeds Bradford.

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'Our officers are trained to expect the unexpected, but were surprised when they realised just what the passengers were smuggling.

'It is vitally important that unregulated attempts to bring livestock into the UK are stopped, to protect the health of both animals and humans and to prevent animal cruelty.'

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: 'Not all baggage going through airport security will be x-rayed, so it was really a good spot by the officials that stopped these birds being brought into the UK.

One suitcase contained five of the fighting birds in individual crates, while another held four

The birds showed up on Border Force x-ray machines during a routine baggage check

'It's not uncommon for these birds to be used for fighting, although we don't know this is what they were going to be used for.

'The birds weren't making any noise because being in the dark suitcase is like when you put a blanket over a parrot's cage - the darkness means they are quiet.'

Border Force officers use search techniques including sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners - as well as visual searches - to find stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and cigarettes.

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Customs officers find live Asian fighting birds in suitcases after smugglers flew them into Britain Images