Australian Federal Police have raided a property north of Hobart and seized more than 3,400 bird eggs including threatened native and migratory species.
The eggs were found in draws and egg warmers, and are believed to be worth $400,000 to $500,000.
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The raid followed a tip-off prompted by a European operation into the illegal bird trade.
No arrests have been made so far but a 62-year-old man from Greater Hobart is under investigation.
Bird and egg smuggling used to be “big business” in the mid-1980s, said former detective Michael Kennedy. And it’s still happening today.
Kennedy worked to infiltrate criminal organisations that were buying, selling and trading bird eggs and nests illegally.
He explains what bird smuggling looks like in Australia and describes going undercover on this episode of Crime Insiders:
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