A 40-year-old man was arrested on Friday in connection with an investigation into the possession of protected wild birds and illegal explosives and firearms. The arrest followed a series of raids and discoveries by the authorities.

At around 9am on Thursday, a member of the Game and Fauna Service found illegal bird trapping equipment in a field on the man’s property, located in a fenced area near his home in Paphos.

The discovery came as part of an ongoing investigation into the death of an eagle.

Further searches were carried out by both police officers and members of the Game and Fauna Service, with court warrants in hand. In the man’s storage shed, they found an alarming assortment of illegal items, including 47 bird traps, three traps for finches, a bird sound imitation device, 17 rounds of restricted ammunition, two boxes of factory-made ground fireworks, and 60 cleaned partridges, stored in a freezer.

In addition, packages containing various wild birds were discovered in another freezer in the kitchen.

Inside the house, investigators uncovered a specially designed display case that contained an air rifle, a single-barrel hunting shotgun, 48 rounds of prohibited ammunition, three more bird sound imitation devices, and other items that were seized as evidence.

The 40-year-old man was arrested in the evening after a court warrant was issued against him. He was taken into custody to assist with ongoing investigations.

The Paphos criminal investigation department is continuing its work on the case.