A man jailed for attempting to smuggle rare falcon eggs out of the UK on a flight bound for Dubai proves a link between wildlife thefts in Britain and buyers in the Middle East, an investigator says.
The eggs were destined for the black market in Dubai, where they could fetch £70,000 (Dh400,000), a court was told last week.
However, a government official in Abu Dhabi responsible for enforcing bans on illegal wildlife trade said he was unaware of such a market.
Jeffrey Lendrum, 48, was caught in May after a cleaner at Birmingham International Airport noticed him acting suspiciously in the Emirates Airlines business class lounge - he had used no water while in the shower - and reported him as a possible terrorist.
Lendrum was found to have 14 peregrine falcon eggs bound in socks and strapped to his body with bandages to keep them warm. In a subsequent search of his home, police discovered equipment for egg hunting, including incubators, a GPS system and walkie-talkies.
Guy Shorrock, a senior investigations officer at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said the prosecution was "the first unequivocal link between peregrines and the Middle East".
"There was no doubt that this man is a professional international courier. I don't think there is any doubt he was taking eggs to order to supply the falcon market in the Middle East," he said.
"There was always some speculation that some of these birds or the produce from breeding projects were going out to the Middle East."
Lendrum was heading from Birmingham to Zimbabwe, with a 14-hour layover in Dubai. Investigators have dismissed the idea the eggs were bound for Africa.
"The chances of him taking those eggs and taking them to Zimbabwe are considered remote," said Mr Shorrock. "It is believed they would be passed over to somebody in Dubai who would incubate them and pass them on to whoever wanted them."
With falconry a favourite national pastime, the birds are highly coveted, selling for tens of thousands of dirhams. But peregrine falcons are a protected species, and trade in wild-caught birds is illegal.
Abdulrab al Hemeri, a senior official at the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi responsible for enforcing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, said he was not aware of a market for peregrine falcon eggs in the UAE.
"I can't remember an incident or any attempt to smuggle rare wildlife species from the UK to the UAE," Mr al Hemeri said. "This may be the first attempt. We seize stuff at the border, either brought intentionally or not. They're usually from Africa to the UAE."
Lendrum admitted at Warwick Crown Court to one charge of trying to export the eggs and another of illegally stealing them from a nest on the side of a mountain in Rhondda, south Wales, in what investigators described as the most serious case of its kind in decades.
There are only 1,400 breeding pairs of peregrine falcons in the UK and the birds receive the highest level of protection. Falcon eggs are thus coveted.
Lendrum, a former member of the Rhodesian Special Air Service who travelled the world for business on an Irish passport, developed daredevil techniques to snatch eggs, once abseiling off a cliff to reach a nest, and on another occasion lowering himself from a helicopter in Canada.
He was first convicted of offences involving taking birds of prey from the wild in Zimbabwe in 1984, then again in Canada in 2002. In the Birmingham case, he has been sentenced to 30 months in jail.
"This sentence is fantastic news," Mr Shorrock said. "It sends a very clear message to the criminals who seek to make money from exploiting our wildlife."
@Email:eharnan@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Ramona Ruiz
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6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
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9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Well Of Wisdom
7.05pm Summrghand
7.40pm Laser Show
8.15pm Angel Alexander
8.50pm Benbatl
9.25pm Art Du Val
10pm: Beyond Reason
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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
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Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
