A man was arrested at an airport after being spotted trying to smuggle endangered live songbirds through customs stuffed in his trousers.
The man, who was travelling to Taiwan from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, was found with a total of 18 creatures hidden in special pouches and in a cage in his luggage.
Pictures showed the man rolling up his trouser legs to expose the little birds in bags strapped to his shins with only their heads and tails sticking out.
Others were kept in specially made cages with screens inside his bags.
The Institute of Tropical Biology confirmed that 11 of the birds belonged to protected species like the white-rumped shamas (Copsychus malabaricus), oriental shamas (Copsychus saularis) and melodious laughing thrush (Garrulax canorus).
Customs officials are now investigating the man, who is believed to be a Vietnamese national.
