Rare peregrine falcons born in police custody after smuggling swoop

A man tried to smuggle the peregrine falcon eggs out of Birmingham International Airport. Credit: @WMPolice

A cast of 11 rare peregrine falcons are to be returned to the wild after police managed to stop a man smuggling their eggs out of the country.

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Officers from West Midlands Police kept the eggs warm on a computer terminal at Birmingham International Airport until a police wildlife rescue unit arrived.

Eleven of the 14 eggs recovered by officers from the force's Counter-Terrorism Unit hatched.

The birds will now be returned to the wild.

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