British Sovereign Base Area Police arrested six people for illegal bird trapping in the Xylophagou area after a coordinated joint operation with the Cyprus Police and Game Fund in the early hours of Tuesday.
The arrests were made after lengthy intelligence was gathered with the help of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and it led to 32 people from both police forces and the Game Fund, swooping on eight different locations.
During the operation, the SBA Police were able to make multiple arrests and seize large amounts of bird trapping equipment – two of the arrests were made at a field in the Xylophagou area where the men, both from the village, were using mistnets.
Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Jon Ward, speaking shortly after the operation had concluded, said this sent out a warning to the bird trapping community that despite seeing a significant reduction in the illegal activity this year, the SBA Police were still working around-the-clock to eradicate the crime.
He said: “These arrests were the culmination of a significant amount of work between ourselves at the SBA Police and our partners in CyPol, the RSPB and the Game Fund.
“With the help of our partners we were able to gather a significant amount of evidence prior to the operation and that led to the six arrests carried out by the SBA Police within our areas.
“This latest operation once again highlights our ongoing commitment to tackle this problem and to continue to reduce the illegal activity within the SBAs.”
Two of the six arrested are minors but they have all been released on bail pending further police investigation.
Deputy Divisional Commander in Dhekelia, Andreas Pitsillides said: “We operate a zero-tolerance approach to bird trapping and we will continue to work closely with all of the other concerned organisations determined to combat this problem.
“These are significant arrests and where appropriate they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Tens of thousands of migratory birds are indiscriminately killed each year by illegal trappers looking to catch song birds that are an expensive, yet illicit, local delicacy. The worst of the ‘killing fields’ are situated within British military base areas on Cyprus.
