Birds of a feather caught flocking together in Taoyuan

Taoyuan police yesterday arrested 10 people suspected of smuggling birds from China into Taiwan aboard passenger planes.

The suspects were arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and 38 birds were destroyed by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

The bureau said the smuggling of birds from China could lead to the spread of bird flu in Taiwan.

Taoyuan County Police Chief Lin Te-hua (林德華) said it was the first time that people on regular passenger planes had been caught smuggling birds.

Lin said police had arrested primary suspect Chen Lien-chun (陳廉鈞), 46, and nine others.

Lin said Chen had admitted to hiring a number of accomplices and completing more than 20 smuggling trips.

Late on Sunday, police discovered 24 birds in passenger Yin Po-hui's (尹普惠) luggage, with each bird packed into a small wooden box.

All the birds were still alive.

A search revealed another 14 birds concealed among the possessions of nine other travelers.

Chen told police he smuggled the birds because they are very popular in Taiwan.

He said each bird was worth more than NT$20,000 in Taiwan, but could be bought very cheaply in Guangzhou.

He told police he had offered the other suspects plane tickets and accommodation in China as well as NT$10,000 in cash in return for smuggling the birds into the country for him.