AKIPRESS.COM - Three shaheen falcons that the two Arab nationals attempted to smuggle earlier this year have been set free today in Issyk-Kul, the Nabu rehabilitation center chief Urlanbai Sulaimanov told AKIpress on Wednesday.

Two citizens of the United Arab Emirates identified as Mohamed Khalifa Alhameli and Said Khalifa Alhameli (brothers) were held at the Manas airport by the border guards on 14 October 2016 for an attempt to smuggle 4 falcons in the extra pockets of their underpants.

3 of the seized falcons survived, 1 died, authorities said.

"The birds were handed over to the department for the rational use of natural resources. On November 3, we received them into our rehabilitation center and assessed their condition as unsatisfactory. For about 1.5 months, we've been taking care of the birds and were able to improve their conditions. We set them free today after they were kept in an aviary," said Sulaimanov.

The shaheen falcon conservation status in Central Asia is endangered. Its number is estimated at few hundreds.

It was earlier reported that the Manas airport border guards and employees of the National Security Committee of Kyrgyzstan detained on October 14 citizens of the United Arab Emirates for an attempt to smuggle 4 saker falcons from Kyrgyzstan.

The border guards during the passport control noticed the unusual behaviour of the two UAE nationals. They passed the document check successfully, however, their behaviour called suspicion.

A flight attendant on the board of the aircraft having noticed how the passengers were putting something from their pockets in the bag called the border guards, who then found the saker falcons in the pockets of the passengers.

The heads of the birds were worn with caps and the wings and feet were tied.

During the inspection, it was established that the nationals of the UAE were smuggling the saker falcons in the extra pockets of their underpants sewn below the knee.

After registration of the relevant documents, the detainees were handed over to the State National Security Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic.