Jeffrey Lendrum spent three decades living as the so-called “Pablo Escobar of eggs,” smuggling them from the nests of falcons and other birds of prey to wealthy international clients.
Lendrum’s racket was busted in 2018 when customs officers at London’s Heathrow Airport found him in possession of 19 eggs worth US$130,000.
During a full search, he was found to be wearing a body belt made out of bandages concealing 19 eggs from vultures, falcons and kites, as well as two newly hatched African fish eagle chicks.
Photo: AFP
A British court sentenced the 58-year-old Irish-Zimbabwean to more than three years in prison in January last year, but yesterday, he faced another court appearance.
He is wanted for skipping bail in 2016 after a Brazilian judge sentenced him to four-and-a-half years for attempting to smuggle peregrine falcons out of the country.
The veteran thief received his first conviction at the age of 22, when he and his father were found guilty of petty theft in Zimbabwe. He has since served time in Canada, Brazil and Britain.
Nicknamed the “Pablo Escobar of eggs” by the media after the Colombian drug lord, Lendrum has amazed readers with his crimes.
Lendrum, once a member of the Rhodesian Special Air Service, even used a helicopter during a theft in northern Quebec, hanging from a rope to get close to the nest, according to Joshua Hammer in his book titled The Falcon Thief.
Richard Thomas, spokesman for wildlife trade specialists Traffic, warned against turning Lendrum into an “anti-hero.”
“I think the publicity around his regular convictions helps demonstrate that persistent offenders will be caught and receive increasingly more severe punishments,” he said.
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